ONE: Roberto... poeta de la Boca

Roberto 

A challenge I've overcome: Never

A dream for my future: to never lose your friendship

A hope for the global village: that there is peace and the most beautiful that there is for all

Roberto... resident poet of the streets of La Boca.  :-)
Roberto, a 70-odd year old charmer and romancer,
a gentleman with a never-ending stream of lyrics and smiles....
Roberto, street sleeper and street poet.
Roberto, who shared his story with Dani and I in the streetlight of a Boca bus stop.
Amongst his romantic poetry and flirtatious words Roberto also told us of the tragedy of having lost his wife and child in the same year, two years back. His wife Lydia died from cancer and his child, an adult, was stabbed in the street.
He told us that this was when he left his home and took to sleeping on the streets.
Roberto also told us with quiet confidence and pride that he had never touched alcohol or drugs in the years of living on the streets.
He explained the difficulty of finding a dry spot to sleep, often taking a colectivo (bus) throughout the night hours to avoid the rain.  He currently had an infection in his leg that he had some tablets for but was bothering him.  Roberto spoke of how the state pension that he was due for anyway was nowhere near enough to put a roof over his head.
He said he was not looking to put a roof over his head.
Roberto told us of the kindness of friends from the neighbourhood who stop-off  for a chat at his regular daytime bench under the bridge at La Boca port, often bringing him food or a drink.
All the while we chatted Roberto filled the air with silky ribbons of his poetry.
He was impressed by Dani's on-the-spot recital.

Roberto responded to these postcard questions in a way that seemed skipping around them , shying away, and I sensed he wasn't keen on it, so never asked for a photo.  He commented on the importance of really being in the moment, reminding me of the need to live fully in the present moment... I felt like this was a timely warning against losing full contact with the pleasure of the present moment through trying to constantly document it (a reminder of the tendency toward deflection through overwork, in reference to the Gestlat cycle - and again, sat here at my laptop night after night I'm wary of the same)

We sat at the bus stop a good long while.. many buses passed by and the three of us were content in enjoying one another's company.
With a huge genuine smile and a warm hand hold, Roberto taught me a lot that evening about true human dignity in carrying a past heavy in painful memories and genuine enjoyment of the present moment.

Gracias Roberto, un abrazo, cuidate... y que siempre disfrutes y compartes tu poesía.

:-)