Distant Shores

Come feel the pulsing, exotic sounds, reverberating upon those distant shores where loud voices wail without restraint shouting staccato cries with utter abandonment. How solemn are the pounding drums, with heavy hands beating haunting, hypnotic rhythms. A ceremonial crowd of mourners follow the well trodden pathway leading to makeshift sailboats made with sails of flour sacks sewn together, then tied to wooden tree masts. A dirge of death passes by weighed down in its weary task while a swath of fiery clouds splash boldly across a golden sunset, hovering over the Indian Ocean. See the light, cotton robes wrapped loosely around the darkly tanned, young men rippling gently in the breeze as they carry the deceased above and away, into the sea. A solemn ritual, a cultural divide separated by a hemisphere of oceans and sky. Written on 6/19/2018