Drum Talk

drum talk

baba sez
“if you strike the edge just right
leading with whichever hand feels natural
and listen for just the right sound
the drum will say ‘ma-ma.’”

big flat hands on the center
pulled away to allow the natural resonance of skin
gives us “da-dee.”

working at saying the names correctly over and over again
allows us to call the mother and father spirits.

at this early stage
we are not yet talking with them or about them
praising or exalting or telling stories
about their lives
or our lives
or life.

we are not asking for a blessing or offering thanks,
demanding retribution or promising penance.

we are not asking them to call together
other spirits
or recording history
or recalling legends.

we are not traveling with them to faraway lands
or answering the call of our neighbors.

there is no alarm
or grief
or celebration.

there is no specific
language
or dialect
or geographic representation.

we cannot recall the names of kings
recount heroic deeds
or detail the history of our children’s names.

we are not
reciting the law
recalling the dance
determining borders
or finding water.

when we cause the drum to say the names
over and over again we are calling the mother and father spirits

when they come to us we are changed by them
as the drum is changed by our hands
as the air is changed by the sound
as our breath is changed by the pulse.

when they come to us
they remove the distance between us
and slowly we stretch across the hollow space
until we are one skin
one breath
one heartbeat
one spirit.

when they come to us
the tree
the cow
the goat
the lamb
the mule
will live again.

when they come to us
we offer the gift of music
and if we please them
they will show us the rhythm
that is
our history
and teach us the song
that is
our hearts.

---

Bowen, J. M.  (1994).  “Drum Talk”.  In Smith, K.  & Tabasso, G. (Eds.). Whiskey Island Magazine, Winter, 1994, Cleveland, Ohio:  Cleveland State University Press.

Image Credit - Atiba Kojo