Yemaya

I went to see someone about my pain and he told me

That i had to meet the warrior at the edge of sea

"do not carry anger that is not yours"

Says el brujo

And just like that

The sand is a quiet prayer rug under folded knee deep washed ashore

Rain passing the cheek

A lick of salt from the lip

Longing for the wide arms of wind

Woozy and restless

I rushed toward the deity of living sea

Horse of my heart

Running to the teacher of tides

Wet whisper of all that swims

Breathing beneath blue water color

I'm here to heal my hurt

I fall into the black mermaid of miracle and pearl

Mistress of moon and star below

Seven glittering waves, splash aquamarine

A flamenco skirt dancing on the sky

Lightning fast footwork

Heaven on my shoulders

Arms flirt the clouds, a migrant bird outstretched

El brujo rubs my body with the fruit

And tears the shirt from my back

Mumbling a tongue that teases me faint

Tell me you can hear those thrown overboard

Teetering on the plank

The drowned out screams sink each shriek

A shimmering

Shimmering face

I bury my face in the chest of the ocean

Weeping for the voices remembering me

God of cerulean scales and gold fins

Temper of turbulent rivers, roaring

Cleanse me of sadness and sorrow

In this grandest lakes, lagoons or streams

Yemaya

Yemaya

I offer

I offer you papaya

Coconut and cotton flower

Deep labyrinth of worlds sunken under

Lady who levels the land

Queen of atlantis

Guaraca beneath Arabian sea

The spirit of depth

The mapless mountains inward

How light goes to rest

Vanishing in the opaque

Largest body without borders

Lines fade

Nations

Navigating fishing boats filled with dreams

That never dock guardian of the glistening ancient graveyard

Ghost gossiping with our tunes

Fortune teller of shivering shells

Soothing these stranger times

I do not know

I do not know which ancestor gave me this rage

But i am ready

I am ready

I am so ready

To lay it down i'm ready to lay down

I'm ready to lay it down

Asé

Me traiga su bendición me libre de todo mal reina del mar

Madre de chango guerrera de mi corazón

Bendice a cada oriente, a cada oriente

Bendice

[Outro: Assata Shakur]

I hope that I can live up to my mother's example

And i hope that I can live up to my ancestor's expectations

Because I really believe that I have a duty

To all those that have become before me

To all this who lie at the bottom of the ocean

To all those who lost their lives

Whether it is in the cane fields, or cotton fields

Or you know, hanging off some tree to continue the struggle

And to continue to love

And to continue to believe

And to continue to try to be human

To be giving