ONE NIGHT IN HAITI *
The general threw his cap on the bed.
The dog ran through the garden.
Through the window he could see the sea.
It was very hot in that room.
The next morning there would be a ceremony for the change of command.
The hotel maid brought clean towels.
The general leaned out the window and breathed in the sea breeze.
He no longer missed and would not miss
Dusk
The sound of drums could be heard in the distance
Black people would be dancing. Somewhere a sorceress would be preparing her spells
The general poured himself a shot of whiskey. Without ice. The drink warmed his icy soul.
He took off his boots and looked at his white feet.
And he remembered so many marches, but his feet were rested. His soul was tired and so were his eyes.
He wouldn't come down for dinner.
He wouldn't play cards.
He walked to the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror.
He said goodbye to the image of a general at the end of his career
II
In the hotel lobby, people looked at each other.
Uniformed officers accompanied the transfer of the body
The command change has been cancelled.
Another ceremony would occupy that morning.
* in honor of Urano Bacellar, a Brazilian general who commanded the United Nations peacekeeping forces, found dead in Haiti
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