Shushufindi
Lark Beltran
Seeing an odd name for the first time,
in this case, printed on a sign
at a quiet Ecuadorian crossroads,
one smiles at the quirky syllables
spoken in the area as nonchalantly
as we say Cleveland.
Delightful such words are,
each one a history, often coined
in the flowering of a now-dead language.
Conjuring up the remote and alien,
foreign place names tickle the fancy,
slide or stick on the tongue,
honey-caramel textured like Lostwithiel
or harsh as dragon scales: Irkutsk.
Whatever changes rack the world
and remodel its cultures, may it never
run short of Shushufindis.
About the Author
Lark Beltran is originally from California, but has lived in Lima, Peru for over 30 years as an ESL teacher, along with her Peruvian husband. Over the past several years, she has had poems published in a number of online and print journals.
Click here to continue reading the Spring 2009 edition of ExPatLit.com.
