December in San Miguel

In the afternoon we walk
the empty streets,
a stilted, stumbling stroll
on cobbles worn smooth
by sandals and hooves,
the ubiquitous dust between the stones
and in the air we breathe.

The sunshine is hot
on one single-file sidewalk,
the shadows cool on the other,
and the broad, solid doors,
hand carved generations ago,
keep the inner courtyards
private from the public street.