Nazaré

Quincey Holtkamp

she waves

sometimes

she shouts down an alley

not to become

that black dot on the beach

The woman of the dried fish

When you close your eyes,

as the warmth of the sand melts into your back

in the distance

dried octopuses and sardines

spread out on wooden racks –

once swaying, now nothing but skin

stretched tight in salt and sun

like silent trophies of the sea

as the wind stirs

she pulls down her seven skirts

one for each day

seven colours paint the sea

seven waves roll along the shore

seven suns merging over and over

with distant horizons

seven mornings

of café com leite

served by men who could have been her sons

amid tourists and brisk words riding heavy bass sounds, life moves steadily on

sea-salted hair coiled into neat, deliberate knots

in her ears, golden danglers glinting in the sun

her companheiras cackling

as if the ocean itself had stepped inside

and lingered for a moment

in the distance

barco negro

The children of the seventh wave 

I hover like a gull above the lighthouse

watching a veil of salty mist slowly receding into the clouds above

upon the cliff, the fortress awaits a new portrait on its heroes’ wall

voices from the canyon beneath, hushed —

a whispering choir drifting with the tide

a sétima onda 

a sétima onda 

it’s the wave on which the ship lets itself be carried home

it’s the wave that lures in surfers from faraway coasts

on this grey November day along the rocky shore,

among immortelles that still bring some colour,

those gathered keep their binoculars near

in their sights, the foam-white shoulder of Praia do Norte,

a jet-ski launches the surfing deer,

hungering, it surges toward the breaking swell

bent on fusing with the ocean’s pulse

as antlers fade beneath the whitewash’s swirl

caught in a ten-minute film noir,

she swallows her breath and prays

Oh, 

Nossa Senhora da Nazaré,

protege os nossos filhos do mar

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Quincey Holtkamp (1994) is a writer and artist. During her recurring residencies on the Portuguese Silver Coast, she created this poetic triptych that evokes the essence of Nazaré – a coastal village shaped by its fishing heritage, myths and legendary waves. Explore more of her work here. 

Photography: Quincey Holtkamp

Author's portrait: Nicki Carolin