images alight or the fade of an iridescent song
you said
kora
you said
waves that undercut
a song
i want
you said
no images this time
a glass jar
where
stripped carcass of fish sprouting
scattered rainbow
filled with God
kora
you said
waves that undercut
a song
i want
you said
no images this time
a glass jar
where
stripped carcass of fish sprouting
scattered rainbow
filled with God
a poem may be
a wash of the sky
a wash of the sky
sometimes
ghost is the point
raindrops hit
before leaning away
ghost is the point
raindrops hit
before leaning away
Rainbow Fish in Coron -- Abigail Wong
A kora is a mandink harp built from a large calabash cut in half and covered with cow skin to make a resonator with a long hardwood neck. The skin is supported by two handles under it. It supports a notched double free-standing bridge. Strings were originally made from thin strips of antelope hide, but now most are harp strings or nylon fishing line, sometimes plaited together to make them thicker. Traditional koras feature 21 strings, 11 played by the left hand and 10 by the right, but some modern koras made in the Casamance region of southern Senegal feature up to 4 additional bass strings. By moving leather tuning rings up and down the neck, a jali (kora player) can retune the instrument into one of four 7-note scales. A kora sounds like a harp, though when played in the traditional style it bears a closer resemblance to flamenco and delta blues guitar techniques. The jali uses only the thumb and index finger of both hands to pluck the strings in polyrhythmic patterns while using the remaining fingers to hold the hand posts to secure the instrument. Ostinato riffs ("kumbengo") and improvised solo runs ("birimintingo") are played simultaneously.
ReplyDeleteIntriguing, mesmerizing, unique and quite engaging!
ReplyDeleteVery nice. Raindrops hit before leaning away...
ReplyDeleteLes expression manifique et interessant! Quand meme.. J'ai quelques questions..
ReplyDeleteLes expression manifique et interessant! Quand meme.. J'ai quelques questions..
ReplyDeleteVery beautiful, some very memorable lines!
ReplyDeleteWonderful.
ReplyDelete