I’m in the back of a cab on a Sunday morning.
“Are you Indian?” the driver asks, ‘Punjabi? Tamil?’
It’s the same question I’ve been asked, over and over.
Why do they always feel the need to name and place me?
“Yes, I’m Indian; Malayalee,” and even though
questions flood behind his eyes, he is silent.
Then the music stops, and I see him slipping
a CD labeled ‘Malayalee Songs’ into the player.
I want to laugh and tell him, “I’m off to church,”
but slowly, a raga builds, a veena road
leading to my unvisited motherland.
Kerala, why have I hidden from your rhythms
beating songs into my bones? How could I deny
your epics, unrolling swollen rivers through me,
strange tongues speaking through the string and quiver
Poet Douglas Kearney and composer/producer/drummer Val Jeanty link up for a a compelling LP that feels like the written word come to life. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 30, 2021