Pum, Pum, Pum, <br />Hear the mournful beat of the drums. <br />All come, all come, all come, <br />To honor those who died. <br /> <br /> <br />Pum, Pum, Pum, <br />Hear the joyful beat of the drums. <br />We sprinkle water, honey, rum and gin, <br />To laugh with thee and quench thy thirst. <br /> <br />Pum, Pum, Pum, <br />In the beat of our hearts, <br />Joy and sadness echo the drums, <br />As we cast these flowers into the sea, <br />to honor thee, to honor thee! <br /> <br /> <br />June 2 honors Middle Passage Remembrance Day, commemorating the terrible days <br />When African slaves were stuffed like sardines in the holds of ships and brought to <br />America. Many died ghastly deaths. Others, when they realized they were enslaved, <br />threw themselves into the ocean in the name of freedom. The first slave ships arrived in <br />Charleston in 1670. To honor the millions of slaves who died, water and honey, gin <br />or rum are sprinkled in the waves to give their ancestors something to drink. Some <br />Throw flowers into the waves, and some beat drums.<br /><br />Mary Naylor<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/middle-passage-remembrance-day-june-2/
