Trafika Europe 6 - Arabesque

the scarecrow

“Was woman born to be an artiste?” “All women are artistes. Woman is a born artiste.”” “ T ime has s lung i t s catastrophes at me on three occasions in one span. The first was the day we elevated above us the Spirit World’s emissary, who stripped me of all my titles. The second was the day I imagined that one man could rescue another from an ailment, affliction, or any other loathsome condition and therefore accepted for my affliction medicine that blinded me and confined me to the abode of tenebrous darkness. Now time has struck me for a third time and stolen from my bedchamber a beloved whose chastity was proverbial among the tribes.” “Catastrophes refuse to descend to the campsites

singly.” “We always badmouth time’s treachery but do not swallow the bitterness of this treachery till time betrays us.” “Did you believe that heroism consists of withstanding the thrusts of spears or the blades of swords? Today, do you believe that true heroism means bearing the blows of the age—not those of people armed with weapons?” “That’s true. The masses puff us up with their cheap praise. Then we believe the lie and strut among people with all the arrogance of peacocks. We do not discover the fraud till the Spirit World frowns and inflicts punishment on the empty lands.” “Here, at last, you speak with the tongue of wisdom.” “But why doesn’t wisdom

43