Silence of the Horn

The wailing horn cries out not for the kings of distant lands But for the children who have forgotten his music. Like the soft belly of a camel The warms sands of my home creep between the toes of my feet. The hills rise and roll over, beckoning the clouds for moisture. Empty riverbeds crisscross the valleys, dried over time by sand, wind, and man Once darkness rises lovers come to meet under the galool, Like song birds of the morning they entice one another with sweet songs and fragrance In the distance the lonely hyena wanders, Calling out for his clan in low bellows The young know to stay close to their mother’s breast, For the king patrols the darkened earth And with a smile flashes death, but life as well For lions are also mothers The winds sweep over the land, bringing with them the smell of rain and salt Under the deserts lie ancient kingdoms forgotten by time Dynasties thousands of years old, ended by swift cavalry and drought Though the rains have not come yet we shall still sing and dance With every heavy step and beat of the drum old empires shall rise, Every string plucked on the kabaan, shall be a melody so sweet even the bees won’t be able resist its pull Until all of our family returns to their mother’s home.