What Paradise Have We Lost? (Song and Dance Edition)
I woke up to music just the other morning and I can safely say
That the most exhilarating nine minutes of recent memory
Was when The Seven Year Old and I took out our white handkerchief
And comfort blanket, respectively, and got down to our song and dance circle
Call it the musical antidote to the previous day's zoom funeral
Even as I was paying penance in this ongoing season of grief
Borborbor dances and other Abutia clan traditions soothe as remedies
Then I recalled the moment after we had lost Daa, when my Auntie
Briefly sublimated her pain and sorrow and lost herself in the dance
A few seconds of pleasure in fond remembrance of her mother
In a covidious time we live with the fear of the superspreader
The web gave a glimpse of African ceremonies of yore
This was the music of the Gods, what paradise have we lost?
...
Gee kindly Doctor Fauci
As a boy, I used to enjoy choir practice
That is, until my voice cracked
And hormones made my intentions mixed
These days, however, the danger is stacked
Singing in mixed choirs has been decidedly nixed
Until this pandemic's ended, we are well and truly stuck
A Debt Foretold, a playlist
See previously:
This grace note is part of a series: In a covidious time.
File under: life, coronavirus, pandemic, culture, observation, perception, music, dance, loss, change, tradition, grief, social, communities, covidious, poetry, Ghana, family, Africa, toli
Writing log: March 20, 2021
No comments:
Post a Comment