This is the Way: a poem by Leo Hartshorn

Drumsound rises on the air,
its throb my heart
a voice inside the beat says,
I know you're tired,
but come, this is the way
---Sufi mystic Jalaluddin Rumi

Ears tingle with tabla beat
of Bikram Gosh
complex polyrhythms throb
with my drum heart
as I play mridangam
with Zakir Hussain
a voice calls out
from the drum
this is the way

this is the way
to wholeness and holiness
this is the way
to healing and health
this is the way
to mindfulness and meditation
this is the way
to my muse and mentor
this is the golden thread
that weaves together
the tapestry of my life
this is my way
this is my truth
this is my life