by T.S. Hidalgo

Artwork, “Layers (Shades of Green)” by Patty Ploehn

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<<Fucking Hell, I can´t believe it!,

what is the Valle de los Caídos* doing in the middle of Paradise?>>,

xxxx asked, on their honeymoon,

when they arrived at the USS Arizona Memorial

(ranked No. 1 out of 312 things to do in Honolulu,

according to TripAdvisor).

Subtle paradox, right?

Following that argument,

Hawaii itself happens to be the leader,

out of 50 states,

in a matter of homeless per million inhabitants.

Further still,

some Pacific islands remain uninhabited,

because of atomic tests

(including Bikini Atoll,

smaller than the world´s smallest swimsuit).

In a nutshell,

a sort of paradise, in its version Jekyll and Hyde:

Gauguin become White trash,

living within nothing less than a barrack of fair,

facing a courtyard filled with rubble

(or perhaps a vehicle that does not work).

What for, then, a Purgatory,

with seven cornices?

(not to mention the Ante-Purgatory).

Light is merely a reflection on the lens,

maybe.

* A basilica-monument near Madrid dedicated to those fighters who died in the Spanish Civil War, and in which former Spanish dictator Francisco Franco was buried.