KONKO IN THE RAIN

(for and in debt to Kwame Alexander)

the ceremony would have been canceled

were we

outside in The States

but we

were in Ghana

unafraid

of the rain because rain is

water

and water took us

away

and water has brought us

back

so the water embraces

us

that cleanses

us

that quenches our thirst

for knowledge

and love

baptizes

us now

under Blue-Gray clouds

as we

ceremoniously welcome

Queen Mother Juanita

Nikki Giovanni A Good Cry