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Pastimes : Calling all SI Poets
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To: Volsi Mimir who wrote (1716)4/9/1999 3:47:00 AM
From: Volsi Mimir  Read Replies (4) of 2095
 
The Mystic Drum
Gabriel Okara

The mystic drum beat in my inside
and fishes danced in the rivers
and men and women danced on land
to the rhythm of my drum

But standing behind a tree
with leaves around her waist
she only smiled with a shake of her head

Still my drum continued to beat,
rippling the air with quickened
tempo compelling the quick
and the dead to dance and sing
with their shadows--

But standing behind a tree
with leaves around her waist
she only smiled with a shake of her head

.

THEN the DRUM BEAT with the RHYTHM
of THINGS--of--the--GROUND;
and INVOKED The -=eYe=-of--the-==SKY==-.
The -=SUN=- and The -=MOON=- and The -=RIVER=--=GODS=---
and the -Treee es-BEE -GAN tooo D~A~N~C~E
~~~<>>>~~~~~<<<>~~~~~<<>>~~~~~<>>>~~~~~<<<>~~~
The FISHES TURNED MEN
AND MEN TURNED FISHES
AND THINGS STOPped to Grow.......
~~~<>>>~~~~~<<<>~~~~~<<>>~~~~~<>>>~~~~~<<<>~~~

But standing behind a tree
with leaves around her waist
she only smiled with a shake of her head

And then the mystic drum
in my inside stopped to beat--
and men became men,
fishes became fishes
and the trees, the sun and the moon
found their places, and the dead
went to the ground and things began to grow.

And behind the tree she stood

with roots sprouting from her
feet and leaves growing on her head
and smoke issuing from her nose
and her lips parted in her smile

turned cavity belching darkness.

Then, then I packed my mystic drum
and turned away; never to beat so loud no more.

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