a portuguese toreador

A Portuguese Toreador

Portuguese bullfighting is about hypocrisy,
elegant riders, men, and women too, dressed
in silk, and of good families…of course.

Blue blood and titles, demonstrate for us
superb horsemanship, bait the bull and stick
sharp stakes into its muscular neck.

Dark blood flows down its sorry flanks, this
goes on till the bull is exhausted, pants and
loses interest in the rider.

It’s led out of the arena, sharp stakes are
removed, then it’s killed, and its meat is given
to the poor, or to the people in the business.

The Portuguese can know wash their hands
and say: “We do not kill the bull in the arena
like the cruel Spaniards do.”