The Dance

In the town of Bardez where Armenianswere still dying,a German woman, trying not to cry

told me the horror she witnessed:"This thing I'm telling you about,I saw with my own eyes.Behind my window of hellI clenched my teethand watched with my pitiless eyes:the town of Bardez turnedinto a heap of ashes.Corpses piled high as trees.From the waters, from the springs,from the streams and the road,the stubborn murmur of your bloodstill revenges my ear.Don't be afraid. I must tell you what I saw,so people will understandthe crimes men do to men.For two days, by the road to the graveyard . . .Let the hearts of the whole world understand.It was Sunday morning,the first useless Sunday dawning on the corpses.From dusk to dawn in my room,with a stabbed woman,my tears wetting her death.Suddenly I heard from afara dark crowd standing in a vineyardlashing twenty bridesand singing dirty songs.Leaving the half-dead girl on the straw mattress,I went to the balcony on my windowand the crowd seemed to thicken like a clump of trees.An animal of a man shouted, "you must dance,dance when our drum beats."With fury whips crackedon the flesh of these women.Hand in hand the brides began their circle dance.Now, I envied my wounded neighborbecause with a calm snoreshe cursed the universeand gave her soul up to the stars . . .In vain I shook my fists at the crowd.'Dance,' they raved,'dance till you die, infidel beauties.With your flapping tits, dance!Smile for us.You're abandoned now, you're naked slaves,so dance like a bunch of fuckin' sluts.We're hot for you all.'Twenty graceful brides collapsed.'Get up,' the crowd roared,brandishing their swords.Then someone brought a jug of kerosene.Human justice, I spit in your face.The brides were anointed.'Dance,' they thundered -here's a fragrance you can't get in Arabia.'With a torch, they setthe naked brides on fire.And the charred bodies rolledand tumbled to their deaths . . .I slammed the shuttersof my windows,and went over to the dead girland asked: 'How can I dig out my eyes?"

Siamanto " The Dance "