LAND OF SPIRIT DRUMS

Like thirsty beasts we onward lurched
With dragging feet and vacant eyes
As spectral shadows loomed around
And wailing wisps rose from the ground.

Behind us lay a darkened land
With tombstones littered dull and grey
And wilted flowers lay beside
Sorrows that they could not hide.

Where eerie winds had filled us each
With cold despair and aching chill
As silence echoed from do’med halls
And crumbling splendor of ruined walls.

Until one dawn a drop of dew
Had hung above the huddled mass
And pulsating with a celestial light
Lifted stones against the weight of night.

And straining through the murky mist
The distant sound of drunken drums
Called out with a haunting beat
Raising us from dead defeat.

We'd staggered forth in ragged file
Still clinging to the musty soil
Of decayed dreams and tired hope
That hung on us like knotted rope.

The drums beat on their rhythm mad
Awakening us from years of sleep
And luring us to lift our gaze
Drew us deep into the haze.

We stepped into a shimmering blaze
That heaved and throbbed with cosmic life
Invading every cell and pore
That dormant lay from times of yore.

What is this place, we whispered low
Our voices hoarse with fear and awe,
Where colours melt to smell and sight
And notes erupt at the touch of light?

Where distance seems to hover close
And heavy lightness ensconces you?
Where vibrant hues stain every thing
And every sense just longs to sing?

The drumbeats sounded closer now
Devoid of earthly form or shape
Spiked our blood with spirits new
And filled our souls with drops of dew.

We surrendered to the insane tunes
Not knowing yet from where they rose
So bent our heads to listen true
And found they rose from me and you!