NATIVE ARTIST IN ECUADOR
She paints nuts—
Brazilian, pecan, hazel, buckeye—
Hard-shelled beauties.
Her soft hands
Add warmth and sheen
To the dark shells
As she sands the surface,
Then brushes the colors
Of butterflies, lizards, toucans.
When, as her brush gets finer
She paints whole scenes--
Women in white blouses
With skirts the colors of her tropical flowers
Bright pink, orange and turquoise
More radiant than sun shining on waves.
The native men in her pictures
Wear wide round hats to protect their brown skin
From the sun. On their feet
A fine one-hair brush paints
Black stripes of huaraches, the soles
from used, old bus tires.
The people she paints carry
Guitars, drums and pipes
Fipple flutes—the siku, kena, and pinkillo.
She sells the nuts on the street.
Some tourists crack them
to eat the soft meat inside.
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