Rub-ah-Dub Stylee
(for Kwame Dawes—who knows the secrets of swimming)
the bass
wicked beat
bottom heavy
sweet heat
a rhythm to
ride, ah ride
a waist to wind
eternal time
pendulum swing
slow and wide
left, right
rim to rim
out, in
brim to brim
the music
talk
a we
ah moan
she a groan
ah pray
she a sing
“row funky fisherman
stick your oar in my sea
shove sweet sailor
come, ah carry we
rock me little boat
kingdom i come
ferry we both
til kingdom we come
reaching for heaven
the heavens we reach
once we cross over
this wide wild sea”
—kalamu ya salaam