I never knew that
the name Osei-Afrifa
was one of royalty,
until a classmate whispered:
you are of noble blood—
but I had been beaten
and belittled by so many
that I didn’t believe
for years
I slept as until
I felt the stars of Anansi
and listened to
the djembe drum:
I danced
in the astral realm
and asked the Ashanti ancestors
to create a tapestry of kente cloth
so I could be clad in a regal robe.
I danced
in the astral realm
and asked the Ashanti elders
to create a ritual ceremony
as I cleared the battle fields.
I soared
above the prairies fields,
and sought the safaris
that could purify
the spears and swords.
I learned the ancient Akindra symbols
and sought the wisdom
that would to be sewn into my cells,
as I reclaimed my name: Nana Aqua
and the golden stool.
Caroline Reddy’s work has been accepted or published in Active Muse, Bethlehem Writers Roundtable, Braided Way, Calliope, Clinch, Grey Sparrow, International Human Rights Arts Festival, Literary Heist, The Opiate, Quail Bell and Star*line, among others. In the fall of 2021, her poem “A Sacred Dance” was nominated for the Best of The Net prize by Active Muse. A native of Shiraz, Iran, Caroline Reddy is working on a collection of poems titled Star Being, which chronicles the life of a Star Seed on earth.