The Gift
He walked into the bakery to buy bread
a big man
well worn cowboy hat
gentle face
we were sitting at a table
drinking our papaya juice
and talking to the dona behind the counter
he turned to us and said
“uma cancá0”
and began to sing in a soft sweet voice
he sang of his seventy-three years
he sang of his growing up
he sang of his family and the death of his wife
he sang of his travels
and he sang of his cows
I didn’t understand all of the words
but I understood his song and marveled at its beauty
when he finished singing he just smiled at us
took his bread
and walked out of the bakery
there remained a silence
that was filled
with the gift of his song
by Robert Markey
from, Poems from Brazil
—poems and drawings of my travels in Brazil,2015
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