My Ancestors Call Me

My ancestors call me to come to the Motherland

And I feel as if I’m drifting on a raft of disappointment

Loaded down with hopes and dreams and expectations

As if I should know the passage to travel

My ancestors call me and I ache to answer the call

Because I feel as if my heart lies on those shores

And I beg to walk as a native of that earth

As if I know every corner of that land

My ancestors call me and I want to bow down and touch that soil

Because I know I belong there as an elder

And my heart cries out like a lonely bird for its mother

Knowing I need my Motherland to console me as I grow

My ancestors call me many times and I want to respond

Because their calls are like a welcome to those who walk the uneven ground

And so I continue to work as if my ride will come tomorrow

So I can be carried across the water like a ship that knows its course

My ancestors call me over and over again

As if they are preparing me for my mission of life

And so I continue to hear the sounds of joy like a sax that draws you close with each note

Because I know those notes are like a signal to come and rest

like a baby needing a lullaby

My ancestors are calling and I hear you!

And I stand up like a young soldier responding to the bugle call

Because I know it is as important as life itself

And so I continue to hear the voices

I hear you Lucinda, Nana, Ida, Uncle Jimmy, Faust:

My ancestors who call me as if you are the bringers of those who came before

And so I will continue to hear you like a serenade humming

in my heart each day

Because I know you want me to come as the carrier of life and love like a servant of all humankind

My ancestors call me and I know you won’t stop

Because the call is like a bow strumming on my heart strings

And I will respond whenever the time is right with my soul

Your call pulls me and propels me and lifts me

My Ancestors, keep calling!

Your call carries me upward like a flight of eagles soaring

To help me to reach the highest heights

I will answer Your call when it is time!

And so it is!

        © Hilda Ward, 2016

A pendant portraying a revered ancestor
from the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Photo:Brooklyn Museum
from Wikimedia Commons