Thump Thump
All I hear is the beating of the drums
Like sweet honey in my ears
Like the feel of soft lavender on my skin.
All I hear is the wind whispering through the leaves
Like the first waves crashing into the shore
Like the orange sunset winking goodnight.
All I hear are the wet drops of rain hitting the ground
Like the first splash of juice from a stolen sugarcane
Like the grasshoppers singing on a still night
Until the footfalls of the soldiers come.
With their bombs and tanks spitting up the soil we used to grow our maize
The spray of bullets and the loud hum from the aeroplanes above from where we used to watch the Drongos fly
When they leer and beat our sisters with the backs of their guns
When they tear their clothes off and hang us from our wrists to watch
I close my eyes and for the last time I try to remember what it all felt like before.
Like harmony
Like peace
All I hear is the beating of drums
