July 2025
Djembe
by Elani Spencer
the life force of the goat who sacrificed
vibrates in the rivers of my palms
and the dirt paths of my feet,
reminding me of where I come from
and where I am going
the Djembe swells in time with my own chest
under the streams of sunlight pouring
like palm oil through the swaying branches
The ba-da-dum ba-da-dum of the Djun Djun
the ting ting ting of the Kenken
awaken the roots beneath us—connecting
this DC oak to a guava tree in Mali or Senegal
blooming over relatives I have yet to meet
Here, we are in conversation
music and poetry mingling in the middle
every generation bobbing their head,
bouncing their knee to the rhythm
red, green, yellow and white
colors swirling and waving
like all of our flags
In this circle, we are family
In this circle, we see family
Muse Mosaics 