Griot Soul

It was the griot soul

who wrote our history

on walls in graffiti,

and scribbled our scriptures,

in graphic mystery,

painting our likeness in cerulean mixtures,

undeniable hieroglyphic pictures,

of who we were meant to be.

It was the griot soul

Who cared about the young, 

who'd come after us,

who wrote their story in dung

on papyrus,

to let them know, 

they were not a curse,

but let truth show,

that they were Africa's

children first.

Have you ever heard the spirits speak,
encourage caution, and whisper warnings?
Have you ever been who the spirits seek,
in the early dawn of the morning?

 It was the griot soul

who composed our spirituals,

chanting litanies of our past,

in dance and song,

and to our own selves held true,

we strummed our misery, 

from the bowels of jazz,

and from that labor pain, 

gave birth to the blues,

It was the griot soul

Who carved our memories,

into monuments of Olmec collosal stone,

then left them by the sea,

and like any document ever known,

these heads speak volumes for all the world to see, 

On the West bank of the Nile at Aswan,

sleeps the governor whose beautiful mind,

caused a griot to inscribe his autobiography down,

and another to sculpt his head onto the body of a lion.

and place him in the desert for time reknown,

a guardian of time and truth,

some mistake him for Khafren,

but he is the Governor Harkhuf.

Have you ever heard the spirits speak,
encourage caution, and whisper warnings?
Have you ever been who the spirits seek,
in the early dawn of the morning?

We once communicated in talking drum,

We who the Dynasties built,

We don't know anymore where we're from,

And some don't even ask it,

We who once stitched our stories in quilts,

And wove our secrets in baskets,

don't know from whence we've come,

Or even question if the story we're told is true,

You should never let the enemy hold the pen,

because when your story is through,

The only person who will remember you when,

Is the griot soul in you!

Have you ever heard the spirits speak,
encourage caution, and whisper warnings?
Have you ever been who the spirits seek,
in the early dawn of the morning?

I have...

Victori Bass  ©

  

The Griot Soul