Kill the Drums

 Kill the Drums

Kill the war drum so upbeat…
At it
…for so long you don’t remember
The sounds of peace
do you?
Doo-doo, doo-doo-doo, doo-dooooo
Kill that drum for once…
and listen
The birds want to sing for you
Shshhs listen
Children skipping…
 Laughing and calling
Listen to them
Chanting alphabets
Alif…ba…ta… tha…jim…ha…
Listen to the calls for prayer
Life is calling you by name…
Kill that drum… not my son…


Boom boom booboom boobooboom
Oh how I hate your war drum
It drowns out the other sounds
The sounds of everyday…the sounds of life
...Listen...
The irritating school bell clangs clumsily
The sound of chalk on black board
Footballs being kicked from feet to post
The old headmaster muttering about the unruliness
Laughter … banter… chatter… calling and responding
Pretty little girls giggling
Kill that drum …not my school


Da dum…dum dum dadadum dum dum
Kill that drum… it doesn’t belong here
With the sound of women hard at bargaining
The vegetable sellers touting their merchandise
The chicken market and all that cackle
The goats bleating above the sheep and their pomp
The smell of sweet tea and fresh bread
Tiny spoons clicking against neat cups
And mischievous boys running between crowds
Coy   girls selling their basket ware, for their dowry
And there comes the mean man collecting debt
Kill that drum not this market…


Under the old tree where you can’t hear them
The elders are making hushed deliberations
quietly…
Loud in their head… the caution of their wives…
Whispered
The wind rustles the leaves of the tree above
Whoosh…
In the distance the river flows
All the way from the mountains
Fwha fwha fwha…
Do you know how long they have all been here?
The mountains feeding the rivers
The rivers feeding the land
The land feeding the men
The men feeding their families
Kill that drum not my village


dudup-dup dudup-dup dudup-dup
Now … that is your heart beating
The unmistakable sound of life…
In our  village that is still alive
Amongst your friends at school
At the bustling market square
Under our big dignified tree
Please don’t kill yourself
Kill the drum instead…
Kill the war drum
Dudup-dup
Dudup
Dup
Good
You
Are
Still
Up!
There is a chance