Duh Measur'n Rod

Duh Measur'n Rod

By Asili Ya Nadhiri

I reck'n mama yeah'bout beat daddy'duh death,

wit lil'l less'n'uh quarter;

cose dat wuz all he brung home next'duh hurs

--dat wuz all dey'd gib'm fuh'is balls.

huh . . . reck'n eben I kind'uh help'it long too

it make daddy take'duh cross'is hands in'is lap,

sit'n back dere on'duh doe step.

uh reck'n dat wuz his way uh,

guard'n what li'l mem'ry he had left

daddy use'duh wear dat ol wool suit in'duh summertime

use'duh waer dat old thin suit in'duh win'ih . . .

uh dont nevah membuh see'n daddy sweating,

didn't nevuh see'm shak'n from'duh cold

daddy use'duh stand dere fuh hours at'duh time,

jes look'n out dere ovuh Uncle Tank's 'bacco field

--dat is,

til dat "soil bank" thang come'n took'it

now daddy jes sit n hum tuh'm'self

rite dere, on dem back doe step;

hummmm'n n'uh look'n off yonduh

jes like he look'n fuh sump'n . . .

* * * * *

Source: Asili Ya Nadhiri. Humming Drumm Sung -- in soft pedal tones. 1993

The language and rhythm of African people have been an obsession throughout my life. I can still vividly remember the heavy syrupy dialect that impregnated my ears as a small boy, the hypnotic rhythmning of the body movements of African people that continue to sang to me, and the depth of the wellsprings silently stirring inside the language forged in the North American experience of African people. By means of my tonal drawings, I am trying to actualize this experience-ing for the benefit of us all.

I am Asili Ya Nadhiri, born on August 29, 1944 in Durham, North Carolina and raised in a small tobacco town named Clinton, North Carolina. My undergraduate education took place at Hampton Institute and Ithaca College, Masters at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, and ABD (all but dissertation) at the University of Florida in Gainesville. I have been an instructor of vocational agriculture in the Orange County Public School System (Orlando, Florida) for the past twenty one years.

New book entitled the inner recesses of an abandoning life by Asili Ya Nadhiri available. For an excerpt and purchase visit www.hummdrummsung.com

A CD is inside the back cover of the book entitled the inner recesses of an abandoning life; and a cassette tape accompanies the book entitled HUMMING DRUMMM SUNG in soft pedal tones. Nadhiri Writesasil@aol.com