Here I stand,
Today and now,
At the centre,
Of the middle of somewhere,
A very dark, dead and fearful darkness,
Having paid one of its regular intrusions,
On an unsuspecting African village,
Giving birth,
To a complete demise of activity,
Save for the stubborn nature,
A strong cold wind blows,
Rattling leaves off trees,
My heart thuds,
At the thought of a ghost,
Making enough noise,
To scare me,
Like a bare-footed traditional dancer,
Pouncing the earth,
My skin crawls on my bones,
At the thought,
Of callous and faceless wizards,
This is their time,
And this is their rush hour,
I could be standing,
On the roof,
Of some departed's house,
At a distance,
I hear a drum beating,
And a strong roar,
Of an ancestral spirit coming home,
Strong enough to shake mountains,
Strong enough to shake the earth like a quake,
Strong enough to spill rivers,
Lakes, seas and oceans,
A dog barks drowsily,
A snake hisses,
A squirrel quirks lackadaisically,
In the wonders of an African village.