Maria Elena Garcia

.t>lnO /VWfuvtz

...|and no. i do not stand here cutting to the dark of light, i do not step into the shadows of empty crowds of empty people; and there is no losing myself in their sea of razor words... where sounds give little comfort because empty people cannot reach me -

i run to the darkness, i cut to the light of dark, and with both my hands. open my soul to hear black gods bless me as black drums sing me bomba praises and mambo shouts my name and i bathe in the beauty of their black blinding rain and release the sting of razor words they have no hold on me...

and in the dark, i hold my heart tightly cuz my mind has already flown to follow conga lines that jump Af-ri-can... with

and i move and i move and i cannot stop the move because mambo shouts my name and even my hair bends to the beat; to the beat of black gods on black drums blessing me in black blinding rain and here, in the crystal light of dark, i watch mangos fall around me, the color of my skin, and the coco drips from the tips of my fingers and the sun leans over to kiss my sweet-thick serenade and i. i kiss it back... here in the light of dark. i watch as empty crowds of empty people crawl by in their emptiness to swim in their bright sea of razor words and slashing smiles, their light is midnight.... they have no hold on me-

my dark is clarity, and i am the drum....

Somot-4 and sometimes black gods will dance mambo only in the dark....