when the ground stands up
breaks away in revolt for her safety’s sake ‘gainst
inextricable anger forced
into her soil
what kinds of movements will replace the measure
of her phe
nominal tempo bejeweled in divine
she mothers nations
yet her bearing is demeaned
the yield of her seeds transformed to bitter fruit
brittle / mutant / strangers who
no longer sing nor
esteem her name
“mother,” sister,” “lover,”
“teacher,” “friend”
‘cause some of you have changed it to
“skeezer” / “slut” / “bitch” and “whore”
while some of you have
walled yourselves away in
peculiar silence
once
she slipped a sliver of a singular samba
between her thighs and
with it
folded time
into aromatic love notes
for you
but some of you denied the rhythm
and would not recognize her music
she sowed you sachet’d secrets
embroidered them
with your name
moved in perfect unison with
moon-tide magic and perfect sunrise
just for you
yet some of you refused
to embrace the
healing of her sun
some of you
ignored the fragrance of her love
african Voices
29