Rama Kaba
I once lived between the Afr ca.
Its name, foreign lips can
Never wrap their tongues.
Its name was ripples of colour.
I once stood where the ocean ended
And the sun extended its arms to
Skeletal kids with big bellies,
Who blended with the darkness of the Earth
Where it was okay for virgins to give birth—
How else to explain the bare feet
Blackened with ashes from death,
Or the muddy water that tasted
Like sugar beets?
I once lived where diamonds were tucked
Under the Earth’s soft breasts,
And gold in its distressed eyes.
Dressed in blood and carried by the Nile,
Its history stolen, filed under Third World.
I once loved where birds carried you on their backs;
Where skin glistered in the morning sun,
But still darker than the starless night.
Your lover’s hand caressing your thighs
As you wondered if his loving would
Leave you dead under the cacao tree.
I once died where souls were sold for salt;
Where the White Sea took your children;
Where you could touch the clouds and
Hear the lions roar; and you knew,
you knew, this was where the world began.
