what tethers me to you are the umbilical cords/ spiral of our descent/ the rites of
passage/ sacred acres of our beginnings
what binds me/ are the incisions on our wrists/ panegyrics/ lyrics holding our
songs together/ holding us/ linking our ancestral dots
what tethers me is the root/ of the baobab tree at our back/ –yard/ the wattle that
props the mud/ the footprints on the sand/ & the feet that follow/ the night of
rain/ before a fierce noon in the field of corn
what binds me to you is the diacritics of our language/ the fanfare of flutes/ &
the bàtá drums weaving rhythms/ camwood/ cedarwood/ firewood—/ a bowl of
àmàlà & ẹ̀fọ́ rírò
what ties me tightly to you/ is this wreath of words/ like the ẹ̀kú binds the spirit
of the masquerade/ to the earth…/ this ellipsis of endless songs
spring from love
*Photo by Eilis Garvey on Unsplash
