Santo II
I woke with a start, thirsty, with my eyes stinging. What are you trying to tell me? I thought.
"What-what is it?" I said aloud.
I realized I had dreamt of her, finally. I smiled but it felt like a grimace. Does her presence always come under such trying circumstances? I swung my feet to the side of the bed and sat there feeling the ringing in my ears, the heaviness of my hands. Water, I needed cool water. I felt like I was on fire again. My head was hot. I groped around the floor of my room for my water bottle and drank. No good, the water tasted like plastic. The TV light flickered. I fudged around under the covers looking for the remote. Re-mote. Remo. Rote. Remo-tuh. Mota. I liked to sound things out when I was stressed, it calmed me. Yemaya, what is it? Ye-may-a. Yem-aya. Yemmu. Yem-mu say onli odu, oddu dua kabiosile agua nueve cariocha. I didn't speak spanish, or any african dialects, though the phrases often ran through my head for no apparent reason. Nine waters outside my door popped into my head. I didn't know what any of this meant and it stayed stuck in my head, keeping me awake at nights. Sometimes I felt like I was crazy.
There was that damn remote, always on the floor. I reached for it and my beads broke, a light tinkle to the floor.
I flipped on the overhead. Yemaya's blue and clear beads everywhere. What next?
"What do you want from me woman?" I asked the floor. If anyone could see me they would think my cheese had finally slipped off my cracker. Standing in my room arguing with the floor.
I fetched the broom. I was awake now, just start the day. I swept and bent down to get the last remaining beads. Look under the bead. There. May as well get the dust while you're down there. A womans work is never done. Hohum.
A glimmer caught my eye. I pulled back the dust cover. Pearls. My strand of Yemaya had no pearls in it.
I sat back down.
"What-what is it?" I said aloud.
I realized I had dreamt of her, finally. I smiled but it felt like a grimace. Does her presence always come under such trying circumstances? I swung my feet to the side of the bed and sat there feeling the ringing in my ears, the heaviness of my hands. Water, I needed cool water. I felt like I was on fire again. My head was hot. I groped around the floor of my room for my water bottle and drank. No good, the water tasted like plastic. The TV light flickered. I fudged around under the covers looking for the remote. Re-mote. Remo. Rote. Remo-tuh. Mota. I liked to sound things out when I was stressed, it calmed me. Yemaya, what is it? Ye-may-a. Yem-aya. Yemmu. Yem-mu say onli odu, oddu dua kabiosile agua nueve cariocha. I didn't speak spanish, or any african dialects, though the phrases often ran through my head for no apparent reason. Nine waters outside my door popped into my head. I didn't know what any of this meant and it stayed stuck in my head, keeping me awake at nights. Sometimes I felt like I was crazy.
There was that damn remote, always on the floor. I reached for it and my beads broke, a light tinkle to the floor.
I flipped on the overhead. Yemaya's blue and clear beads everywhere. What next?
"What do you want from me woman?" I asked the floor. If anyone could see me they would think my cheese had finally slipped off my cracker. Standing in my room arguing with the floor.
I fetched the broom. I was awake now, just start the day. I swept and bent down to get the last remaining beads. Look under the bead. There. May as well get the dust while you're down there. A womans work is never done. Hohum.
A glimmer caught my eye. I pulled back the dust cover. Pearls. My strand of Yemaya had no pearls in it.
I sat back down.
posted by Teenage Frankenstein at 1:25 PM
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