El vino vino*

Hemingway loved the fights more than the rest.
He liked the art of death, the mastery 
with which the bulls were stung and made love to.
He liked sangrķa gulped from leather flasks

while watching sangre gush from lathered bulls.
The mornings he would watch the toros run
and then declare to Juanito which were good.
They too would die in the afternoon sun.

A statue stands in front of that bullring
-a bust of the aficionado-
so all can see the hero's head before
becoming meshed membranes on a bare floor. 



______________________________________________Matt Hedges__
* -"el vino vino" - Spanish for "the wine came" 
   -Hemingway was an avid bullfight fan; he made the bullfights and the 
     running of the bulls of Pamplona famous in his book, "The Sun Also Rises." 
   -sangrķa - popular Spanish drink of red wine mixed with fruit juices.  
       When I was in Spain, including Pamplona, they served it with every supper.
   -sangre - blood.
   -toros - bulls.