To the Contracampana
To the Contracampana
Sito Sasieta
& to how we cajole this bell & revel in its subtle hiding, the unassuming jut of its squared-up shape, which again, almost ducks into the unseen, bound as it is atop the timbal & perfectly still at the center of the crowd. Thou art the younger brother & the faithful understudy to the cencerro. Together, you thump the tun-tun-tun of our pulse, & rush the chorus into the most restive trumpets. You know the simple joy of rupture, the pin pop puncture of the inflated & everlasting concerto. After all, the tuba’s cumbersome waltz offers us what, exactly? And what if the cello’s quivering is self-indulgence? I find your din-din-din a thinner & more honest communion. Thou art the bell of the inconspicuous, the leper of the ensemble, the winking widow who flips the coin in joy, & who is not just a prop in the story, not just a Markan jab at the authorities, but the whack of clarity for the ones who are othered— a virtuoso Word that cries out & is no longer smothered.
Sito Sasieta
Writer & Caregiver
Alfonso “Sito” Sasieta is a caregiver, poet, dancer, and father. He works in a L’Arche community, near Washington DC, where adults with & without intellectual disabilities share their lives together. He has recently had poems published or forthcoming in America Media, Cold Mountain Review, Presence, Pensive, Windhover, Sojourners, The Christian Courier and elsewhere.
Photography by Helena Yankovska