A Libation of Words: For Maya Angelou
By Dr. Joyce Ashuntantang
University of Hartford, CT
And yes Maya Angelou will continue to rise from the ashes of history
A new ancestral presence, visible to those who feel
Yes, the earth will not confine her
This Amazon, daughter of the sun, phenomenal woman
She who straddled the world in body and words
She who broke barriers bringing healing words to taboo spaces
She sang beautifully and courageously from the cage
Her voice breaking free the hinges of our own cages
Today we gather in her name, a celebration of light
I pour a libation of words:
My people say “erong ambeu ereuh, erob asem ereuh-reugh”
The past was good; the future will be good too!
I, we will continue to measure our feet
On her oversized humane footprint