two figures dancing. dressed in red. long red masks. white hands. large. made
of wood. as drums. a clarinet. cries of an indian. as a belly dancer takes
her stage. jingles as she dances around the brick patio out back. a fire
rages behind me. others join in the drumming. candles burning on a candelabra
rising out of a swamp bush. painted faces. strange beautiful costumes.
exotic. dancing. as people switch instruments. long pipes. slowly dying down.
then. a new song.
one woman wears a beak and a tail. another a long violet dress cut below the
breasts. the music. more people joining in. dancing now. top hats. red velvet
jackets. men in drag. medallions hang around necks. talismans. scarves. such
beautiful hats. a man in all white with a necklace of red flowers and long
braided hair. a hooter plays. wild. frenzied. dancing. someone has sewn
stuffed animals all over. long sparkling dresses. orange hair wigs. carribean
music flows out from inside.
earlier. wandering around the house. before people came. before. so
beautiful. (some days later kevin tells me the house was built in the 1700s).
one room. all in dark colours. wood paneling. light shining through coloured
glass on the ceiling above. sayings hanging on the walls. magazines on the
bar. knickknacks everywhere. the hall. long bookshelf. candles. black and
white photos of people. scenes from plays. twisting. turning. the bathroom
contains statues. some broken. fat nude old men. gods. buddhas. mardi gras
beads. stairs leading up to someones room. another door. half wide leading
into another. on the porch. railing made of branches tied vertically. thick
strong long one. horizontal. ice sculptures. as a red light flashes through
the ice from underneath. porch leading down to brick patio fire pit. a large
wooden fish hanging on the barn. out to other rooms of the house. opening to
other parts of the yard. by the back. the garden.