Granted, I don’t look like your typical One-Love Rasta

I’m about as white as they come…

I am of ISH descent

Irish, Danish, Swedish

And nerdy…

Engineer

I’m not cool…my graying hair pulled back

with bobby pins and rubber bands

But when I went to Ghana

For the first time, I felt home

Home, like OM, home

I felt grounded and centered and loved

In the arms of Mama Africa

I was welcomed to the family

To any family

Every family

Like a daughter

People greeted me

Danced with me

Sang with me

Drummed with me

Painted with me

Sat with me

Dancing healed my aching feet

Singing gave me confidence and joy

Drumming connected me to the beat of the people

The heart of the earth

Beating in my chest and in my hands

Now wherever I am,

I feel beautiful

I feel loved

I feel creative

Because this whitey fears nothing

Forever a daughter

In the loving embrace

of

Mama Africa