The Talking Drum--To Kofi Ghanaba, the Divine Drummer


The drumbeater beats his drum
pam pam pata pam pam
calling upon the bold ones
pam pam pata pam pam
with encrypted messages
pam pam pata pam pam
thundering through the land
pam pam pata pam pam
pam..
pam...
pata...
pam...
pam...
the Kilimanjaro-conquering quantum soul of Nkrumah
pam pam pata pam pam
the Akwapem-meandering mountainous mind of Madiba
pam pam pata pam pam
the Tanganyika-twirling titanic tunes of the drummer
pam pam pata pam pam
not all gatherings of clouds
lead to rains
not all deaths
are honoured by termites
adept fingers alone
do not make good music
pam pam pata...
his flesh is consumed by fire
his soul consumes the fire
pam...
the drummer stops
the beat stops
the dance is over...
PS: The indentations are not working properly. This is not the original structure of this poem.

 Copyright 2009 by Nana Fredua-Agyeman

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