The African

She moves to native tones that make you whole,
her rhythm faithful to her roots, her soul —
mesmerizing across culture, creed and community,
yet faithful to her rhythm, her roots, her unity.

As inviting as the spotlight is, she never holds it long,
she pulls her sisters, brothers, strangers into the song.
From every region, every race, she clears a space,
and everywhere she goes, she leaves her joy in place.

And as the beat intensifies and the sweat begins to flow,
she remembers why she moves, why she puts on this show —
not for the applause, not for the fame, not for the thrill,
but to gather all the scattered people, and hold them still.

This is her offering. This is her art.
She is the African — communal at heart.