Just like they played when they were kids
Running in circles in joy
Throwing hands in the air
Shouts and shouts of joy
Boots covered in sand and mud
Throwing themselves in the mud
Hair, face, and body covered in mud
Till the sky becomes dark.
It was that time of the year again
The time to let loose and play
The time to be children again
They ran out in excitement
Now fully grown adults, they left
To cover their whole body in mud
Oh! What a time to be alive!
They felt a rush of adrenaline
Bursts of laughter and dance
The three ladies played and played
Throwing themselves in coal
Throwing themselves in mud
It was like the years before,
The years when they were kids.
Then they were bundled away
By some strong hands, without a face
Controlled by a big woman
She looked like an animated character
Her face so unreal, with her wicked brows
They felt like animated kids in a show
Chased by a wicked stepmother
Only this was real, they were being kidnapped.
Then the strong hands dropped them
In a hall filled with pot-bellied men
They were kidnapped for pleasure
The pleasure of ugly pot-bellied men
Their mouth was stuffed with chicken
Their cups were filled with wine
It was a party, a party of doom.
So they slipped and ran
In the midst of the chaos, they found away
They heard a loud voice behind them
It was the big woman, her eyes stuck out in anger
But they ran and ran and ran
Their body still covered in coal and mud
They looked like mad girls, still, they ran.
They ran into a small community
A community of mad people
They played mad to fit in
One of them got frightened of the mad
She turned back to follow another route
But the remaining two continued
They let out shouts of the mad while they walked
The mad people turned and saw them
They knew they were not one of them
But they let them pass, for they saw the fear in them.
They were almost home, but one stopped
Go ahead Hulu, I'm too dirty to go home.
I'll wash here. The girl said to the other.
The other girl went ahead. She could see her home
She was relieved to be home alive
Away from the big woman and the strong hands
Away from the pot-bellied drunk men
Away from the mad
Home, where she is safe.
Her best friend brought her freshwater
She took a fresh bath from her hair
The girls gathered around her
They wanted to hear all about the play
Their whispers clouding her mind
Whispers of the dangerous play
Whispers of her escape and survival
She heard her best friend's chatty voice
She chatted as she helped her with her bath
And as the mud went off her body
She wondered what a play it was
A childhood play turned to soar
A play of doom!