Back in the Day

Each ancient tribe considered themselves the true people. The word in Y?nomamö for their name is “human being.” Lugal-zage-si reigned over Umma, Sumer. The god of storms, Enlil, anointed Him. His throne extended across the known world: five hundred miles. Tenochtitlan, navel of the cosmos according to the Mexica. Times Square during the 1940s: if you slowly sipped coffee at the Automat, the Milky Way was believed to rotate around you. The neon outside smelled of sweat and liquor. What can’t be expressed in words, let alone music? Does the lack of articles in Latin make each noun heavier? Is the subjunctive mood expendable? The Name that can’t be uttered, although Moses saw His sandaled feet and backside. We felt we had bull’s-eyes on our chest, learning too late that we had sinned. The prisoners were decorated. Some played flutes. 42 children sacrificed to Tlaloc to ensure rain and bountiful crops. They were slowly immolated so tears would quench the God. Witnessing a doe among the meadow flowers, the hunter couldn’t raise his rifle. It was the hour of the evening breeze when we heard Ha-Shem walking in the garden. On his last or first foray, the archer unleashed an arrow. The arrow didn’t budge.