​POETRY  
 
"The Dry finally arrived but
the Wet still lingers in the rotting grasses .  .  ."
                               Photo by Weebly.com                                    
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Looking Through Sunlight
by Elsa Fernandez

​The Dry finally arrived but
the Wet still lingers in the masses
of rotting grasses and soaked leaves.
Treacherous to walk on, as I discover
after sliding to a bruising halt,
looking up at King Jupiter staring down
at me, puzzled.
 
He is handsome with a gentle expression and a sensuously curling lower lip. 
His eyes are ebony marbles, fringed
with thick lashes that women envy.
A singularly elegant alpaca.
 
I venture out to the ancient red Jeep
with trepidation and a diagram of
the automotive pedals around my feet.
  "I can't drive a manual shift so you
    better tell me what to do!"
positioning a boarding ramp for Jupie.
 
He settled in the empty space behind
the front seats, his eyes alert to my
trembling hands.
  "Wouldn't you just like to walk to the
   vet's clinic?"
His eyes were inquisitive.
 
I imagined all his family, a rich
genealogical line of Huacaya alpacas,
skittering across the Altiplano,
never sighting a human for weeks.
 
I met him in 2013 as a young male,
the envy of other alpaca studs,
with a harem of two females,
arriving at his new home in this same Jeep, just shinier and cleaner.
 
I fell into a cross-species love affair
with him and a friendship bloomed.
It's been 10 years and he never minded
that Kai, a stubby tailed Aussie Shepherd vied for my attention.
 
Kai died but Jupie and I still have an
affectionate partnership.
During the recent monsoon deluge,
I came to stay with Jupie and his harem,
to help care for them, in Guerneville.
 
Afraid at night, with sheets of glacial
rain drumming on the barn roof,
I curled up in a sleeping bag in the
old Bentwood rocker outside his stall.
He cushed next to me, occasionally
grunting, just an arm away.
 
He'd wake me up with a nudge
on my neck, ready for his morning
treat of chopped apples, carrots and
broccoli stalks.
 
At the Vet's Clinic, he calmly received
his regular dose of an injectable
de-worming medication and we drove
back to the farm.
 
Don called me and thanked me for
taking him to the Vet, who had emailed
him that King Jupiter was in great
shape, healthy and clear-eyed.
And, proudly wearing a pink ribbon barrette in his top pouffe.
​
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​​Elsa Fernandez grew up in Asia. She has lived in San Francisco since 1970 and never gets tired of this lovely city. She has travelled the world and still gets excited flying back home and to finally land at SFO. Her family is scattered around the world—India, Australia, Dubai, England, Ireland and Argentina. She is a political junkie and majored in Journalism and Political Science. She loves music and plays the piano quite well (one of her dreams was to own a piano bar in upcountry Maui . . . she would probably call it the Maui Moon!). Writing poetry is an emotional outlet for her.
Other works in this issue:
Poetry:
​Poliahu's Return
Inside OLLI:
Book Review: All in Measure - Poetry by Heather Saunders Estes
​A Memory on OLLI's Anniversary

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We Welcome Comments
Vistas & Byways Review is the semiannual journal of fiction, nonfiction and poetry by members of Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at San Francisco State University​.​
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​Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at San Francisco State University (OLLI at SF State) provides communal and material support to theVistas & Byways  ​volunteer staff.