Poetry - Drum Beats in my DNA

Photo by Taylor Wright on Unsplash

Drum Beats in my DNA
by Marilyn R. Wilson

Music surrounded me from
My earliest years, but none
With driving rhythms that pulsed
Wildly through my being.
Only melodic hymns were offered
In places of worshipful reverence.

Drum beats that ignited a spark,
That stirred unexpected yearnings,
Crashed into my teenage world
When life drew me to the west coast.
Motown, blues, jazz, afro, swing, funk.
The spark exploded, blazing brightly.

Each time a new revelry began
My eyes closed as I sank inward.
Waves of sound washed over me,
My inner cadence pulsed outward.
Movement flowed intuitively,
As inner and outer themes sync'd.

Untaught, untamed, unrehearsed,
New physical expressions birthed.
Creative freedom embraced with joy.
A joy undiminished by age as
The pulse of new rhythms still feeds
The drum beats in my DNA.