Drums in the dusk
Sitting by the river one summer in the Accursed Mountains of Kosovo, drinking raki and wondering how long I will be able to live like this.
Drums in the dusk in Peja
Clashing beats from different drummers
In the square
Mix into their own new beat
And even the beggars smile
In the street
As you walk by bronze giants.
_
Heroes holding bombs and tomes
History's blood and knowledge
Entombed
In staring statues with dogs at their feet
Listening still to the drums
In the dusk.
_
How many summers are left
To live like this?
Swanning about in the sun like
Renaissance royalty
Sutomore to Sarande
Podgorica to Pristina to Peja.
_
Lord Byron looking vain
For the legend
Of Ali Pasha's gold.
_
Another raki by the river
Run almost dry.
Another cappuccino by the beach
On the Adriatic with no space to spare.
Another cocktail on a hot summer evening
In the shade of the
Accursed Mountains.
_
While Europe burns.
_
How many summers are left
To live like this?
_
A storm drops
Sudden as a rockfall
From the Accursed Mountains
Sharp granite peaks slice the sky
Into jagged pieces.
_
An angry wind
Barks bitter thunder and
Dust blows dry between the first drops
Of rain.
_
Summer's diaspora disperses
From the cafés and the bars
Along the Lumbardh.
The drums silent in the thunder and
_
Somewhere a dog is barking.
__
For this poem and many more, you can check out my book "Cracks In The Walls," available on Amazon in ebook and paperback.
About the Creator
Roderick Makim
Read one too many adventure stories as a child and decided I'd make that my life.
I grew up on a cattle station in the Australian Outback and decided to spend the rest of my life seeing the rest of the world.
For more: www.roderickmakim.com
Keep reading
More stories from Roderick Makim and writers in Poets and other communities.
Comments (1)
Mmmm, cappuccino by the beach sounds heavenly. Loved your poem!