Hush and Listen
Hush and listen to the music
of the foreign tongue.
Do you hear
the waves breaking on the shore,
the clapping of the women preparing bread,
the frigid wind upon the plains,
the brittle dry of scarcity,
the howling of beasts,
the calls of birds?
Do you hear
bare feet on forest trails,
water rushing over rocks,
insects calling in the night?
Do you hear
rhythms of hoe cutting earth,
rhythms of pestles pounding grains in hollowed trunks,
rhythms of oars against the water,
rhythms of hooves on mountain paths,
rhythms of sobbing years,
rhythms of laughter and cheer?
Do you hear
complaints of toil against the odds
waiting in perpetual fear,
twang of monotonous days?
Do you hear
the scent of history,
the taste of food cooked in earthenware,
the fire of celebrations,
the footprints of wanderers searching new homes.
the hopeful tale
the disappointed shrug?
Hush and listen to the music
of the foreign tongue.
© 2007 Richard Sidy