Raising up the basket to outstretched arms in a crowd within a crowd, the newborn is cast out covered in blankets, as hands gently take and pass along the vessel of comfort. Anointed with glee, the baby laughs as it rocks along, heading toward a continuous crowd. Tears of joy drench the hands passing along the basket, and marks of fingers and palms adorn its sides. Children and smaller participants within the crowed fling handfuls of Nymphaea petals into the air, raining down white upon part of the crowd carrying the infant, some landing in the basket, which are handled by tiny, fat, wrinkled hands. The baby caresses its nose unknowingly with a petal and giggles louder, followed by shouts and cries of joy within the crowd.
Twenty feet between one part of the crowd and the other is a flowing river in which hands gracefully place this basket in to cast it off. Drips of water lightly mist, spray, and splash upon the infant, and its laughing face quickly scrunches into crying. The crowd of crowds in crowds becomes breathtakingly silent, echoing cries and running water. Before reaching the other side, the basket stretches itself over a hump of water and dips vertically down and out of sight. The crowds gasp in sync. And as quickly as the newborn was stricken from vision, the basket launches itself out of the water and into the hands of the crowd on the other side in furious yells and cheers of joy. The baby composes itself and folds the blanket over its body with one hand and sucks the thumb of the other, drifting to sleep in a sea of Nymphaea petals that continuously rain down.
Jerusalem in My Heart’s Mo7it Al-Mo7it is out March 19 on Constellation Records.
• Jerusalem in My Heart: http://jerusaleminmyheart.com
• Constellation Records: http://cstrecords.com
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