CYMBAL

 

String instruments always my true love

So never a percussionist

But who can resist the primal feeling

Of drums raising the blood?

Thinking of all my favorites:

 

Michael Shrieve soloing Santana’s

Soul Sacrifice at Woodstock

Olatunji’s Drums of Passion

African drums

Welcoming me to the 1960s folk scene

Along with Alla Rakha, Ravi Shankar’s

Tabla accompanist

Til today, love The Bangles’

Debbi Peterson pounding her tambourine

But not really Walking Like an Egyptian

And Sheila E. in Prince’s band

Her drums as exciting as Taiko

Dave Brubeck’s Take Five features

Joe Morello, making the instrumental magical

With drum strikes punctuating horns

And my Dad loved Gene Krupa

King of Swing’s percussionist

And so did I

 

A cymbal is a drum’s accoutrement

Becoming a mystery to me

Lately

When every few hours

From dawn to dawn

Heard the striking of a cymbal

Took me two days to solve

Florida Fall

Acorns freed from Live Oaks

Leaves not deciduous

But the acorns litter

My entire yard

Hitting the tin roof

Mystically striking the wok

Used to keep the wild birds dry

As they feeder-feast daily

During rainy season

Metal protection

For the colorful Cardinals

Woodpeckers and Blue jays

 

While it’s not “real” music

It’s an exclamation from Nature

Change! The seasons are changing!

So not a ghost like I thought

Just an acorn

Cymbaling itself as it sacrifices

Squirrel food while creating

Dinner music for us all…

 

© 2024 Clarissa Simmens (ViataMaja)

IMAGES: Wok “umbrella” and my percussion instruments/Cymbal acorns