The Suárez Sisters Ride at Mission San José, 1948 by Rachel Aguirre

Associate poetry editor Lauren Sparks on today’s poem: Ekphrasis is often a natural impulse for a poet; less so a looking than a seeking, for both the self in others and the other within the self. It is a refusal to leave the painted or sculpted body voiceless—a reminder that art is itself an inter-action, rather than an object. This is exactly what Rachel Aguirre does with Roldan-de-Moras’  “Sunday Riding at Mission San Jose.” With a careful attention to line and the vibrancy of sound, Aguirre gives textural, narrative voice—that tongue—to three “subjects” riding away from the viewer into the Mission San José.

The Suárez Sisters Ride at Mission San José, 1948

after the oil painting Sunday Riding at Mission San José by Gladys Roldan-de-Moras 

Below swollen sun, the air steeps with sweet
—oak rot, cream roses, horse coats newly curried,
and split prickly pears trickling sap.  
Riding crops snap and red skirts ripple like poppy
petals under wind. Sombreros with damp 
underbrims slant back as the sisters loose 
lard-thick laughter and Spanish bright as spools.
¡Arre! ¡Arre mi vida! 
Velvet ears quiver in reply, sleek necks 
lengthen, muscles purl, and hooves kick up rust
red earth, dust that gathers in the girls’ dark locks
and whispers an ancient tongue. The sisters
wring reins and gasp at the ache in their blood.
Oh! That tongue—loved and lost in these white walls.

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Rachel Aguirre is a poet and freelance editor from San Antonio, Texas. She has a B.A. in English and a healthy obsession with Isabel Allende, Mary Oliver, and Elizabeth Bishop. In her free time, she attempts to master tamales veracruzanos and explores the cultural richness of South Texas.

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