Poems Rethabile Likes

Kumina by Kamau Brathwaite | Poems Rethabile Likes “Kumina,” by Kamau Brathwaite Poet Kamau Brathwaite reads selections from “Kumina,” from Born to Slow Horses . Read more of the poem What I admire about “Kumina” is how Brathwaite turns ritual into rhythm on the page. The poem doesn't just describe a Kumina ceremony — it becomes one. The spacing, the line breaks, the way words fall like drumbeats: that's Nation Language at its most alive. Here is how “Kumina” opens: on the first day of yr death it is quiet it is dormant like a doormat no one-foot touch its welcome. its dust on the floor is not disturb nor are the sleeping spirits of this house Brathwaite’s Kumina takes its name from a Jamaican religious tradition of drumming, dancing, and spirit possession. The poem's sc...