maquis

maquis[1]        

the belly of this hardscrabble street growls under bald acacia trees. smoke from the cooking fires uncoils from metal roofs, riddled with bird shit. in front, the floodlit disarray of rickety chairs and tables, sticky with bissap[2]. deep bass of the radio rumbles, bumble of static from the football game. the air seethes with diesel, raw onion, singed feathers. a chicken's creamy hackles are ribbed with grime; its scabbed feet dart between plastic tablecloths.

she hovers over the grill, raw fingernails rapping the iron. pink spokes thread eyes; pale scars ribbon arms. in dusk’s orange silo, her thoughts simmer.

her breath smacks of garlic. the calabash spits, runny yolk hisses. wrists darken with the spatter of palm oil and the gasp of chillies. blunt knife jabs eggplant. tomato-glazed fingers palpate braised catfish. flies wreathe her nose, eyes. she culls gray snails from tiger-striped shells, hammer split. dull pearls of attieke[3] crumble; fried lumps of alloco[4] clot. an untethered dog yaps, taps its stumpy tail on the ground, skinny strings of saliva swinging from jowl to jowl. 

evening brims with the blather of hungry customers. blond globules of ginger beer blister red straws, young throats. truckers loll, quaff cans of Drogbas[5]; hands sag on flaccid paunches. a couple imbibes the chilled earthiness of tchapalo[6].

patches of laughter rip. kids trip in and out of the shadows, spindly as scribbles. night ferments. smear of cloud, scratch of stars. she emerges, serves lukewarm plates. a baby bulges in the small of her back, eyes shuttered against the fat moon.

[1] maquis: outdoor eating area in Côte d'Ivoire; also means “scrub” or “bush”, perhaps a reference to its humble beginnings as a place of hospitality for farmers.

[2] bissap: juice made of dried hibiscus leaves, sugar and mint

[3] attiéké: side dish prepared from fermented cassava pulp that has been grated or granulated; dried attiéké is similar in texture to couscous.

[4] alloco: fried plantain

[5] Drogbas: today, the beer “Bock de Solibra’ is nicknamed “Drogba” after the celebrated, Ivoirian footballer.

[6] tchapalo: favourite local beer prepared with red sorgho and corn alloco: fried plantain