#poem, «One Day» (Francisco Bravo Cabrera)

ONE DAY

One day when I am old and mad,
like a useless worn-out prostitute,
conversing with the cat…

Illuminated by a single ray of light,
as the afternoon recedes and fades,
I’m comfortable in my chair next to the window,
watching the world spinning away.

All things are complicated that once were simple…

I think I’ll take a walk down to the bar,
to grab a handful of potato crisps
and a glass of Irish “wine”.
I look around with wild intentions,
are those old friends,
or figments of my imagination?

But I must dance,
and dance I will,
though now alone,
my glass half filled,
the dance floor’s empty,
so are the eyes
of laughing ghosts whose envy
has kept them so far from the sky.

The train has gone,
it’s steam still clinging to my skin,
I don’t travel anymore,
I just watch trains as a whim.

Sitting by my window,
I curiously take a peek
as the carnival is leaving
with its elephants and freaks.

My loved ones,
not so many,
hold a lantern in a storm,
afraid of me receding into madness all alone.
But like an old retired prostitute,
I wonder through the yard,
throwing corn flakes to the chickens
and reciting like a bard.

In truth I’m a survivor,
I’ve toasted every scar,
my tears are made of broken glass,
that broke through those nostalgic thoughts
I launched one day quite far.

The stormy seas can’t drown the music
that I play with my guitar,
so my bones will one day witness
the changing of the guard.

I’ve tasted bitter apples,
I’ve danced with girls sublime,
and a few quite ugly too
I’ve danced with over time.
But surprisingly enough,
I’ve lived to tell the tale,
of this old raging sycophant
that’s ordered one more ale.

One day I’ll be alone and old,
haunting these old hallways,
in a pose somehow unthinkable,
upside down like I’ve been always.

Francisco Bravo Cabrera – 8 SEP 2025, Izmir, Türkiye

«One Day» is another example of my «Jazz Poetry» from my upcoming book. The rhythm does not change, but the time does. Improvisation guides the strength of the story as it would a ghost who walks about just looking for a place to haunt…

CHEERS