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73
ANCESTRAL RHYTHM
<p>I was taught to say good morning</p><p>with careful teeth,</p><p>polished and proper.</p><p>But my tongue softens into<strong><em> "Ẹ káàrọ̀"</em></strong></p>
<p>and the morning stretches its limbs.</p><p><br/></p><p>Yoruba does not walk into a room.</p>
<p>Yoruba dances,</p><p><em>owereke</em>.</p><p>It rolls in my throat like palm oil,</p><p>warm and golden,</p><p>leaving its trace on every word that follows.</p><p><br/></p><p>English stands upright in my mouth,</p><p>a well-behaved guest.</p>
<p>But Yoruba is barefoot thunder,</p><p><em>ṣé o gbọ́?</em></p><p>It does not knock.</p><p>It arrives.</p><p><br/></p><p>I did not inherit silver spoons.</p><p>I inherited <em>oríkì</em></p><p>folded into my name like prophecy.</p>
<p><br/></p><p><br/></p><p>My grandmother did not hand me diamonds.</p><p>She handed me <strong><em>àṣà,</em></strong></p><p><br/></p>
<p>I remember her fingers, wrinkled and wise,</p><p>tracing patterns on my palm while she spoke,</p><p>each word a seed planted in my chest,</p><p>waiting to bloom when I needed to remember.</p><p><br/></p><p>She was praying, I realize now.</p><p>Not with folded hands,</p><p>but with every word she pressed into me.</p><p><br/></p><p>I am my ancestors' answer.</p><p>She said,</p><p><strong><em>"Má gbàgbé ẹni tí o jẹ."</em></strong></p><p><br/></p><p>In English, it means remember who you are.</p><p>In Yoruba, it feels like</p><p>if I forget,</p><p>the ancestors will clear their throats.</p><p><br/></p><p>At school, I am fluent and filtered.</p><p>At home, I am<em> ilé,</em></p><p>I am <strong><em>ọkàn</em></strong>,</p><p>I am the echo of women who sang before microphones existed.</p><p><br/></p><p>My language is not just sound.</p><p>It is inheritance.</p><p>It is rebellion.</p><p>It is drum skin memory.</p><p><br/></p><p>And when I speak it,</p><p>soft or fierce,</p><p>the earth answers back —</p><p><br/></p><p>so I speak.</p><p>Barefoot. Thunder. Uninvited.</p><p><br/></p><p><br/></p><p><strong><em>Àṣẹ</em></strong>.</p>
ANCESTRAL RHYTHM
By
Darby
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Darby
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Competition entry
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International Mother Language Day
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14
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