The Living Altar

we call it sankofa.
alpha and omega
the flower and the root
the past and the future
and i’ve learned through this little portal of soil and shadow
it is the living altar coursing thru me
downloading blood matter and memory of my ancestors wildest imagination

bound in me the stories of their passionate pursuits of land and liberation
the living altar is both the living and the dead holding open the portals
to infinite and inexhaustible possibility
it is reverence for the sacred
and the creative power of the unknown
the living altar is reclamation of land and legacy for me

slave past and afro future
harmonizing and transmuting into me
my daughter
my grandchildren
my village
the journey home is always moving both internally and externally for me
im always searching for the place in myself I can get the most comfortable

black and woman
ive gotten good at striving to make me the most comfortable place to be no matter the environments that reject me

the living altar compels me to worship
my innerverse
conjuring the desires of my ancestors to activate through my being
internal homing isnt easy across lands that promote terror
the invisible unwelcome sign conjuring grief and anger to take residence where joy and the reflection of an abundant earth should dance in my spirit
coming ashore shackled in foreign lands
and multi generational disorientation and distortion of the very idea of home

the living altar becomes the shrine that holds the secrets of denied possibility
the place we lay both burden and resilience
in a world that wont and cant amplify our brilliance.

I worship parts of myself and my people at the living altar when transcendence from trauma is my only sanity

The living altar is a drum
a heartbeat
a sonic pulse
that holds a knowing of all we are