Every Tongue
by Elani Spencer
no matter the bundle of syllables
you weave with your tongue
like bamboo baskets under a blazing sun
no matter the sacred words you breathe
over hot plates of empanadas, jollof rice, biryani, and dim sum
no matter the lyrics you belt passionately
alongside the crescendo of Tom-Tom’s
and tambourines
no matter the tales you spin
with tendrils of campfire smoke,
the fiery characters flickering
on the woodland wind
no matter the ancestral chants you recite
on echoing mountainsides and in trembling wheat fields
no matter the inscriptions etched on your skin
your voice deserves to be heard
Muse Mosaics 