search
Stephen Berer
the Eternal Jew's biographer

The Eternal Jew’s Tale, #131, Concert, 2

Concert Brawl; image colorized and modified by the author, obtained from Wikimedia Commons, Peasants Fighting, Van Ostade, c1640, NGA 71504, in the public domain.
Concert Brawl; image colorized and modified by the author, obtained from Wikimedia Commons, Peasants Fighting, Van Ostade, c1640, NGA 71504, in the public domain.
In this episode the music gets too hot to touch.

The Eternal Jew’s Tale
Eighteenth Era, Part 4, ~1425 C.E., Genoa

Them Berbers strut on stage and take some moments to tune their rods. Now motionless, they stare out at the crowd til everyone’s silent, expectin’ thrills.
“You think them Yahudi’s be hot with their play? Well, we’ll ice them down and blow them away!”
|And into a wild and stampedin’ beat their five drummers unleash their heat. Like a single person, the whole crowd gasps, nearly blown back in the many-toned pulse. And then like a ghost driftin’ out of a pit the voice of the singer arises from the drums, as his body rhythmically undulates:
Who is that lover that makes you sigh?
Who is she, showin’ her thigh?
Seduction, seduction,
Come to me, child.
Seduction, seduction,
Don’t be beguiled!
I am the Ancient One,
Demiurge.
I am the comeliest
Waitin’ to merge.
You were closed and afraid,
You pushed me away.
You told me to wait,
And still you prayed,
‘Come with your love.
‘I will fly like a dove
‘Soaring above.
‘The benighted ones –
‘Zoroastri…
Yahudi…
‘Christiani…
‘Hindusi… 
But the Musselman soars,
He is all adored
In the succor the Lor.
Oh, follow me, follow me, follow me
In your odyssey,
In your Islami…
And now the Christian band, outraged, jumps up on stage and begins to play, duelin’ instruments, duelin’ words, furious that these foreign Berbers presume to stand above their Christian betters and lords, while the crowd upsurges into a mob with screamin’ jeers, and begins to throw rotten fruit and garbage and stones, rumblin’ forward like a slow avalanche tramplin’ anything in its path, and on its edges breakin’ out in violent frenzies and angry fights. Me and Gabby we scramble beneath the stage and crawl, spider quick, to the far side to escape the mob which swallows the stage that soon collapses, as a full-on riot breaks out.
Terror and horror and knotted fingers grip Daniyel, Juan, and Butkoel, who, far from the bands, rush straight home, and have no idea what is happening to us, except that we gone up to the front of the stage and, no doubt, the riot swallowed us.
We skitters and skulks our way down the pier, lucky to skirt the flamin’ heart of the mob that has fanned out, fire-like, consuming everything in its path. (I hopes our boys in the wedding troop escaped; I doubts them Berbers did.) Anyways, Gabby and me show up at Daniyel’s house not so long after they themselves made it home. Oh, the relief, and oh, the tears that we was alive and even unharmed. Suddenly, exhaustion hits us all, and me and Batkol drag ourselves home, and sleep like the dead, decomposing in dream.
~~~~~~~~~~
In the next episode it’s back to the office, which is about as peaceful as the stage the night before.
About the Author
I am a writer, educator, artist, and artisan. My poetry is devoted to composing long narrative poems that explore the clash between the real and the ideal, in the lives of historical figures and people I have known. Some of the titles of my books are: The Song uv Elmallahz Kumming A Pilgimmage tu Jerusalem The Pardaes Dokkumen The Atternen Juez Talen You can listen to podcasts of my Eternal Jew posts on my personal blog, Textures and Shadows, which can be found on my website, or directly, at: http://steveberer.com/work-in-progress. I live just outside Washington, DC with my bashert, and we have two remarkable sons. Those three light my life.
Related Topics
Related Posts