fiesta

from the street i heard
heard a voice
a voice shouting joyfully
into the air of south denton TX
i followed the sound till i found
a gathering of folks
music i'd never heard
indigenous folks
spanish with native language
well mixed in
i stopped i looked in spoke
broken spanish broken english
to two inebriated gentlemen
i went up close to see the musicians
i looked and looked could not see them
then there they were
in full appearance
two saxes one tenor another baritone
and a trumpet
and a drummer hitting archaic wooden hide drums
and a chanter a MC yelling into the mic
as the one minute tirades into primeval jazz ensued
then died down into a sonic chatter of broken dying sound
i saw the orange toss the humorous innocuous innocent
tossing of oranges back and forth and people rushing around getting the oranges
after the tossing
i have no idea
and then as i watched the beginning of the dance of
the bulls i was pushed into the center
and as the music started i was taught the moves
the one fingered horns
the slooping around and steering for the capes
held by beautiful women
i heard the caller sing out
el americano el americano
the sax players winding about in intense 16th note
parallel voicings parallel but distinct
and the trumpet
playing some sort of indiscernible
rampage of sonic mayhem into the air
as careless as a bird singing
the drummer looked to me to be someone
who had transcended the normal trappings
of human expectation
he was someone else to contend with
and a whole different set of values
the caller MC looked like a priest
and there i was in the center everyone clapping at me
smiling like i'd just arrived somewhere
very important
in the dancing i had become their friend
but i had to go
as i left i had the very disctinct sensation
that i had just spent a good deal of life
with a very strange people
20 minuttes seemed then like
20 yrs
life will never be the same again

i inquired into the name of the music
no one could tell me
they looked with indignity and
befuddlement
there is no name one person said
another said
la viento

when i think of life getting back to normal
i am covered in sadness