VERSE
The White Bear of The North
Tell Them, James Blake Moses Sumney & Metro Boomin
“In life, just be alone, though you’re a wanderin’ soul
And you got to move on from the squandered soil
When you get what you came here for
Will you leave in the dead of night?
In the heart is a wall of horrors
You’re the undenied
Can’t return the sacred time you steal
A fact betrays the way you feel
And the sight delays the right to heal
You decide to stay long”
Alexandria saunters into the Moroccan riad in a flowing black abayya
A hood covers her entire identity
She moves like a thick dark fog
Silent into the early AM as everyone is asleep
She leaves a trail of Du Boir’s Oud Noir Intense
To the common man’s olfactory the top notes are as harmless as the friendly souk
cardamom and bergamot
middle notes rose and jasmine
base notes are agarwood, musk, saffron, patchouli, sandalwood, amber and vanilla
To ensure her presence is undetected
a few extracts from Queen of the Night
is mixed to create a hypnotic effect
Those who
catches a whiff of its scent
will be lost in slumber, drowned in amnesia
Epiphyllum oxypetalum,
the Dutchman’s pipe cactus,
or princess of the night
is a species of cactus.
It blooms nocturnally,
and its flowers wilt before dawn.
As subtle, silent and slithering as Alexa’s visit
to meet the White Bear of the North.
A man she always sees to
extract intel and complete mission for the Northern territories
but who has never laid eyes on Alexa
All that he is familiar is her voice.
The White Bear hides within the cold mountains
He only appears when summoned.
Always fascinated by their dalliance
Their only connection is through their coded language
A delicious lingo Alexa indulges with no one else
A tango she relishes in the twilight hours
She could sense his calming presence,
the warmth of his scent,
teakwood. Always teakwood.
It is perhaps with the White Bear of The North
Alexa engages in the most candid and delightful conversations
close to what can be described as normal.
Seated in the courtyard beside the cascading fountain,
separated by a carved wooden panel of intricate Arabic calligraphy
a voice speaks in a sultry baritone
“Three things she excels,” he asks.
“Chairing meetings, blocking people on social media, getting the job done.” She replies. “Et vous?”
“Granola, pickles and laundry.”
Alexa smiles. She wanted to laugh but it was not the right hour of the night.
“The three things that delight” She asks.
He replies, “Painted toes, a good book and driving across the desert. And she?”
“A good roast, a glass of Malbec and the open seas.”
He lets out a whispering chuckle. “Hard to imagine you can be normal.”
She smiles. “You’re anything, but.”
She places two vials in enclosed casings beside her and gets up from the wooden chair. “They’re all yours White Bear. Happy trails with your mission, comrade. You’re the best in this neck of the woods. Be safe.”
“You behave now, Queen of the Night.” He smiles.
“You know you won’t remember much of this in ten minutes.”
“I’ll take what I can remember, until our next meet.”
“Looking forward to that glass of rum.” She smiles.
Alexandria gets up without looking back. That night she didn’t wear the oud laced with Queen of the Night. She wanted White Bear to remember her.
And all these time, he knew it.
“I didn’t plan to stay long
I didn’t plan to stay long (Stay long)
I didn’t plan to stay long
I didn’t plan to stay long (Stay long)
In the snake pit so long, I’ve got posters up (Stay long)
Been defending so long, I don’t know how to stop
Heart, tell them what you came for
Heart, tell them what you came for
Heart, tell them what you’ve been daydreamin’ about
What the evening’s about to
Can’t return the sacred time you steal
A fact betrays the way you feel
And the sight delays the right to heal
You decide to stay long”
From the Padrona Alexandria series:
