It was
the twenty third day of the tenth month of the year two thousand and five. The planet Jupiter adorned the early night sky with declared magnificence. It shone brilliantly with a spectacular dazzle amid shyly twinkling equally
early night stars. The city traffic below, billowing gasps of diesel fumes
and dusty particles on the already saturated air, particles that reflected the
dim lights from the street lights gaze upon the crowded streets below.
Krabo
came to join the poets gathered at room three hundred and five in flat number
fifteen. She knocked and entered without waiting for any ones reply. She knew fully
well that this action would annoy the occupants of flat three ‘o’ five, who at
that time were deeply engrossed in a detailed analysis of 'the use of metaphors
as a contradiction to traditional classic rhetoric'.
They all turned to the door, sharp disappointing stares in their eyes, some wincing here and there while others guiltily stared at floor or roof, checking out nothing in particular. This budging in was indeed not approved by those gathered and inwardly Krabo enjoyed this sight but outwardly the facial expression showed what those gathered couldn’t figure out yet.
Amid serious exchange of glances, the tension in the room was evident and thick. Whereupon the poet Anw Cnesk Pwiri asked for someone to open the window, pushed an extra seat to Krabo, which was reluctantly accepted and sat on.
Anw apologized for the meeting having started two hours earlier than indicated in the invitation, but to Krabo two hours late was not a mistake, but an already prearranged omission. It was clear that Krabo’s invitation alone, of all the poets gathered had the omission on the time for the meeting to start. But this was normal, something strange always happened to these invitations whenever there was an important meeting.
Anw commissioned the speaker, the poet Tsew Gulu to continue with his argument. All heads were bowed Tsew stood up, then each of us took his usual posture, some rubbing their shins, others gently stroking their beards, the already impatient ones alternately crossing their pens between their fingers, the more ardent, keen experienced listeners simply crossed the tip of their fingers so that both arms met at the fingertips, stared ahead like the experienced thinkers they were and occasionally nodded as a point or two sunk in. Everyone seemed to absorb everything with the required concentration.
Krabo too rubbed fingers and pressed the joint on the knuckles so that they made a cracking noise. From which the impatient stare from Tsew indicated his annoyance at this act, which she immediately stopped.
The meeting proceeded as usual till late in the night when the streets were calm and Jupiter had sank lower on the southwest sky.
It was obvious....
* * * *
They all turned to the door, sharp disappointing stares in their eyes, some wincing here and there while others guiltily stared at floor or roof, checking out nothing in particular. This budging in was indeed not approved by those gathered and inwardly Krabo enjoyed this sight but outwardly the facial expression showed what those gathered couldn’t figure out yet.
Amid serious exchange of glances, the tension in the room was evident and thick. Whereupon the poet Anw Cnesk Pwiri asked for someone to open the window, pushed an extra seat to Krabo, which was reluctantly accepted and sat on.
Anw apologized for the meeting having started two hours earlier than indicated in the invitation, but to Krabo two hours late was not a mistake, but an already prearranged omission. It was clear that Krabo’s invitation alone, of all the poets gathered had the omission on the time for the meeting to start. But this was normal, something strange always happened to these invitations whenever there was an important meeting.
Anw commissioned the speaker, the poet Tsew Gulu to continue with his argument. All heads were bowed Tsew stood up, then each of us took his usual posture, some rubbing their shins, others gently stroking their beards, the already impatient ones alternately crossing their pens between their fingers, the more ardent, keen experienced listeners simply crossed the tip of their fingers so that both arms met at the fingertips, stared ahead like the experienced thinkers they were and occasionally nodded as a point or two sunk in. Everyone seemed to absorb everything with the required concentration.
Krabo too rubbed fingers and pressed the joint on the knuckles so that they made a cracking noise. From which the impatient stare from Tsew indicated his annoyance at this act, which she immediately stopped.
The meeting proceeded as usual till late in the night when the streets were calm and Jupiter had sank lower on the southwest sky.
It was obvious....
* * * *
No comments:
Post a Comment