"Diaspora" - (The poetic inspiration behind the Majestic Melanin Magic Body Butter)
Updated: Oct 24, 2020
We are NOT the same.
I do not know you, you majestic, melanin being.
But I recognize the familial relations
Etched onto your skin
That links us as brethren;
The way our shared likeness exists in
the myriad of sun kissed, earth tone patterns,
reflected in your coloring,
I see myself in you.
Como tu hermana, tu familia;
sisters and brothers in el mismo struggle,
somos ébano!
A spectrum of tropical exotic hues mixed with
a bold black resistance:
somos negro, zambo y pardo.
Our beautiful blackness persists
despite denials of its existence
so, sí I speak Spanish,
pero soy africana también.
Never forget that nuestra raza is
an important mix of El Yanga,
y los Garifunas;
de son a salsa,
reggaeton y bachata,
the ancient echoes of a distant motherland resonates in our pulse,
beating a song that unites our corazóns in psychic kinship forever.
Somos proud to be who we are!
But we are not the same.
I and I overstand
Millennial migrations may have separated us but still we are connected
Out of many, one people
is we culture.
So,when we meet
every ting be irie
caw mi aredi feel unno fi apart of we
ah so dat mi seh:
one love, one heart, one race.
There is a collective joy that binds us across time and space
Because fun, festive bacchanals trigger historical traditions
my subconscious instinctively remembers;
and the saga of a rich but sacrificial past embedded in strange dialects
strengthens the sacred bond we already possess,
so thus:
mwen chanje ou
I missed you before I even knew you,
Ak sak pase!
(Nap boule!)
I hear my spirit in your voice:
Stokely,
Garvey,
Toussaint,
and Marley.
The cadence of disparate accents reflect the surviving wisdom
derived from a continent that breathes life into us.
The continent that birthed us all -
Nous sommes africains
Nòs somos negros
Nou se moun nwa
Afro-Latinix
African Americans
Afro-Caribbean
Majestic, melanin beings -
No, we are not the same
and yet we are one.
We harvest a colossal power of greatness
imprinted within our pigment like badges of ornament,
Africa lives inside, on and through us.
So my sister, my brother I may not know you
but I recognize and undeniably love your spirit.
Stand tall in who you are,
you beautiful, beautiful African!
Ashe!
“Diaspora”
Jaiye Empress
29 January 2016
Watch a performance of this poem here.
*This piece is the poetic inspiration behind the Majestic Melanin Magic Body Butters.