My Bell from Cameroon

Shopping for a Drum

Some heavy drums had bark

and some had fur from unknown animals

and one lovely Michigan drum, I was told

would balance my chakras.

Its sound resonated through me.

Hmmmm. My chakras

seem to be okay.

I shook rattles and shuffled around the shop

while the clerk pretended

not to see.

Then I found a noise

so exquisitely piercing and clear

it could cause Ezekiel to rise—

to rise and dance. 

Dance Ezekiel dance.

And may I have the next dance?

And while dancing

I’ll play my hand made bell

from Cameroon.

Not your hum-drum drum

but forged in a furnace and shaped

into an iron throat fastened

to a wooden handle that fits my hand well.

There is a stick to bang on it

fastened with a hemp rope.

I believe my Cameroon bell will be heard on Earth

and other dimensions as well.

--Barbara Spring

This poem is from my book, The Wilderness Within

Review of the Wilderness Within

Round Table Reviews 

Review of The Wilderness Within

Barbara Spring’s love of nature and ancient beings is demonstrated in this book of poems. Images of pterodactyls mingle with bears and hummingbirds. Through her words, whales sing, goddesses dance and dragons swallow the moon. Interspersed among the verses are pictures of Inuit sculptures and cave paintings, as well as essays telling of native people or explorers.

Ms. Spring does not choose the safety of a single type of poetry. Instead, her verses traipse across the pages in a daring dance, tiptoeing from free verse to shape poetry to Ethere to Haiku. The result is verse that not only appeals to the ear, but the eye as well. The Wilderness Within will engage any poetry enthusiast.