Yay Be in the Mayan language spoken in Yucatan, refers to the point where one road branches out into two, or two roads converge into one. This is reflected in contrasting musical ideas; melodic fluidity, and incisive rhythmic patterns, which are constantly changing direction, and then reasserting their identity, sometimes taking a sudden new route or merging smoothly into completely new material. As the work proceeds these ideas are thrown into different perspectives as they are played in varied transpositions.

Some of the rhythmic material in this piece was derived from the composer's brief but intense contact with North Indian music and particularly the rhythmic structures of the music for Kathak dance.