Two Husbands'... Part 2, Chapter 25

 

By Numbers Emplanting

Witchdoctor examines sticks (to stick in the building)

NARRATOR

There - he’s going to put

burnt twigs into it - into the building model.

But, first, he’s going to fashion

and shape them like knots into

recognizable numbers: 1, 2, 3 and 4, et cetera.

    They’ve got to be bendy -

    so he’ll bend them over.

    They’ve got to be black -

    so he’ll scorch and dye them black.

Then, they have to be quite singular and separate

to stand up on their own - so he’ll break them off

    from the major branch.

Perhaps, he’ll do this first, we don’t know?

He’ll separate them and get them

    smaller and smaller

until they are able to fit squeezed through

the Husbands’-model-size office window;

which only serves as a square frame for some mud.

So, he sticks a number through - and in.

ONLOOKER

And there they are - in the mud,

not seen.

NARRATOR

And, this is where he goes about

ranting and chanting,

before he sticks them in

(and when he sticks them in)

to give them some ‘oomph’ -

some tonal, musical, diabolical resonating -    

some total distributive fancy - to send

the numbers’ echo that goes

all the way to the Husbands’ real office building

and shakes those numbers loose

    off of their wall,

    to stand in upon, and up for,

his mirror-image, numeric doubles

which now obstrusely, obtusely

    animate them, possess them

    and shake them loose!

ONLOOKER

Stand-out numbers,

stand-in numbers,

and standing-offish numbers on the Husbands’ graph

are all set loose!  Freed and liberated! 

Hurrah!

Witchdoctor and numbers

WITCHDOCTOR

I’m just a silly Witchdoctor.

And here I’m on the spot with these numbers;

    thinking that I can

    force my way in

to a new territory abroad, right here -

by thrusting in brambly numbers

    and saying a chant.

As we know, any kind of music

among us can work wonders.

And I’ll see what I can do.

These chanted-over branches

are the right shape and they’ll go

    inside the building.

One of them, or two, will catch on to my song

surrounded by all the silent mud;

and then, they’ll levitate the two mens’

    important numbers

up off the walls of their offices.

(End of Chapter 25)