A Cachoeira Lullaby

Words and Art by Doriana Diaz

When I arrived it was just starting.

The music from under my window began to leap across the river. 

Harvesting its sounds under the palm leaves. 

The band played all night long as the children danced in circles. 

The adults and grown folk sat at card tables on the cobble stones drinking beer, mesmerized

by the sight in front of them. 

We all joined them.

We sat down and ordered beers for the table, newly introduced and un-strangering one

another.  

We all began to undress ourselves, we needed no permission.

I saw Black women of every shape, form and dimension expose herself. 

We spoke in our own languages. 

We laughed and touched skin, running hands over every surface until we were raw and smelt

of each other’s home countries. We were teaching each other how to fall in love. 

We were levitating. 

We reached inside one another’s throats and pulled out stories that needed no translations. 

I felt sure something was coming, 

That was the first night I ever saw the moon smile.