Bright Water
(Signing to the women to hide the blanket.)
By dancing you shall bring it back again—for the sake of the women and children—dance, Chisera!
(Her voice has a kindling sound, and the women echo it with a breath.)
The Chisera
Oh, I have danced until the earth under me is beaten to dust, and my heart is as dry as the dust, and all my songs have fallen to the ground. (She begins to walk up and down excitedly.) With what cry shall I call on the gods, now my songs are departed? (She begins to chant.)
And my heart is emptied of all
But the grief of women.
(The women watch her breathlessly; as she gradually swings into the dance, they seem to urge her with the stress of their anxiety.)
All the anguish of women,
It smells to the gods
As the dead after battle,
It sounds in my heart
As the hollow drums calling to battle,
And the gods come quickly.
(As she falters the tribe surges forward.)