Dance Of A God Poem by konye ori

Life is beating the Ayara-Ekomo drum-
And I am dancing like the priestess of the river
possessed by the mermaid spirit of Anansa-

Even the Sun rises to applaud my passion

Fate has cooked for me- the black soup-
I lick it with the zest of a starved child

I run from the statues of my negriscent
that sing to me the songs of the spirits
and expect me to dance the dance of the dead

I run as far as I can under those hunting eyes of the night
through the thicket of the gathering spirits of the forest.

I can fall to the ground like a Yoruba man
to salute the full moon that illuminates my escape path

The daunting drum-beats of life blends with
the crying drums and wailing flutes of my native land
and the music of a sun-heated people fill my ears-

And like a funeral-dance in a wake-keeping
I am demanded to tap to the depressing melody
.
But I dance the dance of a god.