15 July 2010

"Libation"

Here is a poem I wrote & worked on in the spring time... and now I'm ready to share on conscious vibrationThis poem is inspired by one of the hottest dance parties in NYC - Libation at The Sullivan Room - along with the magic of affirming a growing relationship. As it so happens in writing poetry - the poem took on a life of its own - led by the moon and the goddess Erzuli (loa of beauty & love, sometimes described as the female energy of Legba in the Vodoun Pantheon, and understood to be of Dahomean in origin, although some scholars trace her contemporary description/worship securely in the Caribbean). 

I begin with a quote from Audre Lorde - one of her last interviews - where she defines Blackness as an approach - "a way of taking in the world" - this has long been on my mind...  really thinking about what this means. And so I decided to use this as the epigraph of my poem after I wrote & revised it because it captures the essence of what I wanted to conjure.

I would love to get feedback and comments! 

***
Libation
by Angelique V. Nixon

“Blackness is an approach, a way of taking in the world”
 ~Audre Lorde

Cocoa butter sweat on my neck
enraptured fingertips carry spirits
tracing ice water down your lower back
I see extraordinary pathways
radiant hues of gold & green light float between us
bursting flames like healing aloe plants rise
I am flying with
tendrils of charged air
soaring under me.

I remember you conjuring with an island moon
she is heavy with earth’s magic & revival
a new year’s promise
to catch this freak rhythm
grown sexy intellectual vibe
just in time
for libation.

Cocoa butter sweat on my fingertips
led by the soul drum & pull of the bass line
I take your hands in mine
we rise to an explosive rain
current of memory
I trace each movement in your thighs
succulent heat spilling from pores
ice cubes & water vapor dance
between our lips.

I am flying with spirits of warrior women
they glide around my hips
moving me into your fyah
each kiss feels like saltwater healing
the goddess Erzuli whispers to me
it is time & she is grace
make an offering.

Tongues ablaze in tune with mystic
sacred shoulders rock beats in circles
exquisite female energies of color
who speak through a canopy of touch
dancing bodies worship & let go
I feel time as it slows
pulses beneath skin
a groove in rebellious sync
with this afro-beat & house love of soul.

I surrender to you
with intention
for balance & goodness
sweet like sapodilla in summer
nourishing like callaloo & rum
refreshing as a sea bath under the full moon
here in this fyah
we can be reborn
we rise.

1 comment:

Solangé said...

"Libation"....Fabulous poem, Angelique! A passionate, tropical, rhythmic, sexy, elegant, love dance. After reading it a few times over the past weeks, it still reveals new things to me and becomes every time even more beautiful...Gracias mil, hermana!