ONE

VGow 17/05/17                                              ONE                            

Balinese

nightfall

creeps

in.

Expectant

devotees gather,

rustling, hushed,

                                             their faces masked by fervour,

          waiting to watch and listen to

the epic Hindu love tale: Ramayana.

This ancient saga, borne on the winds of time, tells of

Good

resisting Evil.

One comes to catch a glimpse of what lies beyond the curtain.

Is she ready to accept

life’s

hidden

mystery?

A priestly puppeteer- the dalang,- invites her, ‘come behind the screen’.

His gleaming eyes are gilded membranes.

Elongated fingernails with hands ringed by black pearls and white moonstones,

denote him to be

a shaman,

a powerful storyteller

who decrees

what is right.

Oil lamps cast puppet’s eerie shadow on the screen.

Gamelan* orchestra tempers it’s unearthly sound

by softening its percussion notes.

Take care for

music captures souls.

“Mover of the world’*

is just a thin veil away from

mortal spheres.

This is no time to linger.

Escape back into the night.

One is not ready

to know

                                                                            ‘Who

wins?’

Gamelan – traditional ensemble music of Java and Bali in Indonesia made up predominantly of percussion instruments.

‘Mover of the world’ – a term used by shaman who refer to a ‘god-like’ master puppeteer.