Bridge

Prado is its name

a village without fame

save for its Roman bridge.

They said I was the first foreigner

to pass it over

in almost two thousand years.

A loira - the blond - she was

I mention her because

I fell for her.

the village beauty

as fair as fair could be

but with a tragic history.

One weekend

as was the custom then

the blond travelled with her namorado, her boyfriend

to a neighbouring place

where she could showcase

her beauty and her dance.

That night

there was a fight

between two men claiming her heart

the namorado disappeared

not to be seen again

until his body was found floating

down the river running under the Prado bridge.

I sometimes ask myself what was the destiny

of this young lady coping with the penalty

of having loved her namorado

at fifteen without the sanction of the powers that be.

Hers was a secret that all the village knew

I am sure her love was true

But in Prado she could never find love again

especially when this happened - way back then.