05
Cities Broke Down
on a Camel's Back
Mother said, go, bring a great victory.
But how does one achieve such a feat?
Distant lands, unknown chants.
A destiny, good or bad, looms ahead.
And then the lamb opened the first seal. Thunder roared, and a beast called out, "Come and see."
Like the Nile splitting a continent,
Ororo was floating in a river of thoughts.
On one side, a prophecy—
a harbinger of death, an apocalypse.
On the other, her mother's blessing.
From Africa to the Mediterranean: a mystery.
The river curves and the river saw,
Reached through her mind from the cracks of her dilemma,
& the river curves and the river speaks,
in eerie tongues:
'My prodigal daughter,
born of my first love,
I call you from the endless kingdom
of fresh waters.
I rested upon Narmer Ka Menes,
as we united the Upper and Lower Lands.
I saw you, as you are of us.'
Ororo salutes the river.
A desert fills our seeing's inward span.
The Nile carries ancient spirits—
that's why she does not feel any fear.
And the river turned and twisted, and received her salute.
She recalled the wicked oracle's prophecy
to the spirit of the river, to the Sobek.
" When the fourth seal opened, I heard the voice of the beast say, 'Come and see.' I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And its rider was Death. And Hell followed close behind. Power was given to them over a quarter of the earth, to kill with hunger, death, and the beasts of the earth. "
Then continued, with her own words:
My mind lingered on the past and the future.
I would go to unravel the end of the road.
My mother's final blessing echoes in my ears.
I feared. What if the oracle's words were true?
Tell me, Sobek— Is it true?
The river rose and fell.
Sobek replied to her;
Yes, it is true.
The pale horse rides, but not for you.
Ororo was pierced through the heart.
Her breath burned, igniting as she thought of all that future—
So it was all true.
She looked to the stars,
to the river,
and prayed to Sobek:
Let all the gods help us, Sobek.
Go tell them to save us. Let them grant us mercy.
But no god shows mercy—
as both good and evil come from them.
Since they crafted you in their image to rule over this earth,
I see two paths before you.
Go and forget everything.
Never.
Then why don't you listen to your mother's words?
They gave you a terrible madness like love— a power.
I am no one.
How can I bring victory to a place claimed by death and doom?
If you wish, I will help ;
But not with a pity mercy.
If you will wish for love,
I will listen to your desire.
If you will wish for power,
I will take all the wishes you believe in.
The earth's garden feels everything and hears everything.
Tears streaked her face.
She clenched her fists,
reliving a painful war against fear.
On a ship's deck, under a sky of stars—
Night, like a monochrome postcard bathed in moonlight.
On a ship's deck, under a sky of stars—
Night, like a monochrome postcard bathed in moonlight.
An eclipsed sun pierced through,
caught in an endless cycle.
Mother said, go, bring a great victory.
I saw many butterflies that spark storms.
Will you follow the light and the thrill?
She looked at the colors of the landscape,
turned her back—
and her farewell split.
Every drop of blood spilled from our struggles
shines like a star in the depths of this abyss.
We, exiles,
dragged through the streets of a scarred city,
marked like a forgotten sarcophagus.
We search for the fossilized ocean,
torn from the gaze of gods.
Let us tear each other apart,
joyously,
like nebulous catastrophes.
'Lux et Voluptas.'
The river twisted and turned.
Your wish is my command, my child.
On that day,
young Ororo left her home—
Africa behind.
For now.
