Presentation Transcript

Night of the Scorpion I remember the night my motherwas stung by a scorpion. Ten hoursof steady rain had driven himto crawl beneath a sack of rice.Parting with his poison - flashof diabolic tail in the dark room -he risked the rain again.The peasants came like swarms of fliesand buzzed the name of God a hundred timesto paralyse the Evil One.With candles and with lanternsthrowing giant scorpion shadowson the mud-baked wallsthey searched for him: he was not found.They clicked their tongues. Conversational opening The scorpion is merely defending itself, yet it is compared to �Diablo� the Spanish word for devil Religious ideas again, the peasants are relying on prayer for defence against the �Evil One� or the Devil �mud baked walls� suggests a third world country With every movement that the scorpion madehis poison moved in Mother's blood, they said.May he sit still, they said.May the sins of your previous birthbe burned away tonight, they said.May your suffering decreasethe misfortunes of your next birth, they said.May the sum of all evilbalanced in this unreal worldagainst the sum of goodbecome diminished by your pain.May the poison purify your fleshof desire, and your spirit of ambition,they said, and they sat aroundon the floor with my mother in the centre,the peace of understanding on each face. Repetition of �they said� creates the feel of a prayer or a chant. Some countries believe in reincarnation, this is where you are reborn after your death. It is believed that the greater your suffering in this life, the better your next life will be. The reverse is true about your past lives. More candles, more lanterns, more neighbours,more insects, and the endless rain.My mother twisted through and through,groaning on a mat.My father, sceptic, rationalist,trying every curse and blessing,powder, mixture, herb and hybrid.He even poured a little paraffinupon the bitten toe and put a match to it.I watched the flame feeding on my mother.I watched the holy man perform his ritesto tame the poison with an incantation.After twenty hoursit lost its sting.My mother only saidThank God the scorpion picked on meAnd spared my children.  The poet�s father does not believe in any of the ideas being used but will try anything to save the woman he loves. The mother is simply grateful that her children were not harmed.