SOUNDS OF A COWHIDE DRUM by Oswald Mbuyiseni Mtshali

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Read the Analysis of this Poem

Boom Boom Boom 

I hear it far in the northern skies

a rumble and a roar of thunder

I prick my ears

like a buck ready to flee from an imminent storm

Boom! Boom! Boom! 

As it rolls nearer

and nearer to the southern sky 

it holds my heart

my hopes soaring high into the eagle's throne.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

I am the drum of your dormant soul, 

cut from the black hide of a sacrificial cow.

I am the spirit of your ancestors, 

habitant in hallowed huts,

eager to protect, 

forever vigilant.

Let me tell you of your precious heritage, 

of your glorious past trampled by the conqueror, 

destroyed by the zeal of a missionary.

I lay bare facts for scrutiny 

by your searching mind, 

all declarations and dogmas.

O! Hear me, Child! 

in the Zulu dance

shaking their hearts into a frenzy.

O! Hear me, Child!

in the night vigil of black Zionists 

lifting their spirits into ecstasy.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

That is the sound of a cowhide drum - 

the Voice of Mother Africa.