(for Carol)
Sun was shining and West African kora music playing
As I walked through your open front door
Smiling beauty in apron with dinner aromas wafting
Greeting as one old friend to another
So newly met
Full to overflowing with expectation.
How long ago that winter’s day was
As vivid and fresh today
As the light and sounds, sights and smells
So indelibly impressed.
Now with the first of spring
Busying ourselves loading boxes
For another life-changing move,
Silently we each pray it is our last,
But know it won’t be
As time wears us down
And all the things that gave us meaning
Are replaced by something else.
Someday our hobbies and chores
Gardens and trees, pets, birds and bees
Like our aches and pains will prove too much
And we will retreat again
Seeking solace in ever more simplicity.
Until with senses and memory faded
We will be left
With just the sights and sounds
And the light that still lingers
Through the door you so warmly opened
So long ago.
(3/20/26)
(“Kailash Kora”, 2011, original oil)
An endless river flows in these emotions
Each thoughtfeeling bouncing along
The rocky bed
Somewhere up ahead, a lake or at last
An ocean awaits
And then the river will be released
And I will no longer be the me
I always thought I was
Or wanted to become.
(1/19/26)
In the small verdant village of Kora-Kay
Live peaceful folk who fish, eat and play
At sunset they dance around drum circles and sing
Of yesteryears’ joys and what tomorrow may bring
The words fame and fortune are never needed
As their bounty—food and friends—cannot be exceeded
At death, forever with loved ones they’ll dwell
Knowing of heaven but nothing of hell
One night a group of strange men wander in
Their translator tells them all about sin
There will be no family to greet them up in the sky
Only hell if they believe their own heathen lie
In hell they will burn in eternal flame
For their unrepentant, filthy, naked shame!
They will scream in torment, their pleas unheard
If they do not immediately accept the word
Each child cries and runs to their wailing mother
As elders give despairing looks to each other
Kora-Kay’s chief strolls in to solemnly say
We are a welcoming people, but you must go away
In the small verdant village of Kora-Kay
Dwells a peaceful folk who fish, eat and play
Written 5/29/22
Your Favourite Poem From The First Half Of 2022 Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Julia Ward
JOY & SUNSHINE
It was the music of Joy
by the AKA Trio,
three men from Senegal, Italy
and Brazil whose lilting play
was the gracious gift, through
kora, guitar and the softest
percussion, of the exhilarating
sound of sunshine
“Does it sound like springtime?”
she asked, “No way”, I said
“Like summer?” she asked, looking
at me with a face that suggested a
simple inquiry, speaking in a voice
sounding like a morning that would
last all day
I sat for a moment listening to the
music and looking at her and then:
“Honey”, I said, “It sounds more like
the way that I feel every day that I’m
living with you, not simply like the
spring or the summer or any season,
but like the enchanted, elusive essence
of grace that even sunshine, given a
chance to decide, would love
to become!
The AKA Trio is Antonio Forcione (guitar),
Seckou Keita (22-string kora) and
Adriano Adewale (percussion). Joy is their
debut album.
Sing Africa, sing!
Shout to the Lord with your being
Sing to His glory for the great resources He gifted you
Sing like a bird that sings to its Maker, in adoration of His splendour
Sing Africa, sing!
Sing so loud like never before
Let all your children march towards emancipation
Sing with a united voice that sounds so sweet to the ears of those who love you
Sing Africa, sing!
Sing until the wicked roots of poverty are uprooted
Sing like you were not once enslaved by those who wanted your children wiped away
Sing as if you have never known pain, and joy is your everyday bread
Sing Africa, sing!
Sing from a Soul that carries best wishes for the Motherland
Sing in victory over the battles you won
Sing, let no one stop you from doing what you do best
Sing Africa, sing!
Get hold of that xylophone, trumpet, shekere, ekwe, djembe, flute, whistle, harp, horn, gong, balo, kora, kassa, marimba, mbira or any other musical instrument which you play with passion and pride, as the Masters of music
Sing Africa, because you understand the power of a song
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.