TO EDWARD KAMAU BRATHWAITE'S JAH MUSIC

JEAN L. GOULBOURNE


The rumble of drums
The riddle of the fiddle
The clean whistle
Of bamboo pipe
Mento music like news
Bessie Smith singing the blues
Reggae, soca and rock steady
Burn the chalice
And get ready words around the music rings
Of times and things
The lyricist sings
Wind you woes on wax
Lament suffering and high tax
Syllables of sound
Rock the music round and round
Pipe the omen, sing the tune
Wrap the rhythm
Round the moon
Speak the beat, feel the heat
Jive the listeners in the seat
Ride the music, billow the waves
Till the sound in ink behaves
Now the bard speaks the song
                  listen

 

Jean L. Goulbourne was born in Jamaica. A student of History, she has worked as a teacher most of her life. Her poetry collections include Actors in the Arena (1977) and Under the Sun (1988).  She has also published the novel Excavation (1997) and the story collection Parable of the Mangoes (2011).