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en la piel ...
" (1,501). Cemi has been marked by the evidence of the in-
visible since his first appearance in the novel, his red blotches. They
are a blessing in disguise, a sign of his rare gift which he accepts although
he is still trying to understand it: "Vio primero su terror, despu4s con una
cotidiana alegria, la coincidencia de su ombligo, de su omphalos, con el cen-
tro de un dolmen universal Mico" (1,503). Cemi realises that he is a
creator whose imagination will embrace the natural world and whose fruit
will be "animales de im6genes duracionables, que acercaban su cuerpo a la
tierra para que ýl pudiera cabalgarlos" (1,503). This child-like wonder
pervades much of Lezama's poetic imagery. Cemi plays with words, such as
the Coptic tamiela. It is like a new toy with endless connotations and is
described in a manner reminiscent of the image of "becoming", the manatee of
the Michelena orgies: "Numerosas escamas fabricadas formaban los reflejos de
ese cuerpo verbal nadador" (1,504). It is like a frolicking merrmid, shed-
ding scales of light as it is used in its many different contexts. The
word takes on form, lending itself to the poet.
The difficulty which Cemi experiences in recapturing the wisdom brought
by Foci6n and Fronesis continues only until he renounces his quest for them.
Seated in the Law offices at Upsal6n, he is suddenly inspired to declare "las
leyes de las cosas perdidas" (1,505), of which the most important is that
"si esperamos calmosamente, el gnomo trae de nuevo el papel al sitio donde se
perdi6 ...
" (1,505). Inspiration returns when Cemi ceases to search feve-
rishly for it and he hears Fronesis' laugh as a sign of its homecoming. Yet
he must continues to be patient. The coincidence of the death of the ma-
triarch, Dofna Augusta and the disappearance of Foci6n suggest that Ceml is
completely autonomous from this moment. Events come full circle when the
matriarch recognises Ceml as her voice: "yo tambi6n observo que tU eres de
nuestra
familia
...
" (12 517). She implies that her life was necessary-in