Ayizan

Lwa, Loa,
first Priestess, first Mambo,
Initiatrix in a white dress,
may She bless
all who go
to market, who hem and haw
over the prices of the bourgeois,
pockets deep to give to those who have less.
Saint Clare, gently grow
our compassion and press
us to help those whose raw
wounds and mess
come from those who oppress:
the old, the rich, the strong, the spouse, the status quo
and impress
us with the need to help the young, the poor, the weak, those in woe.
She will possess
gently, quietly, in kanzo,
never violent, never raw;
Her open palm hides no claw,
even in age She shows no flaw,
nearer to Her let us draw.
Earth and oil and frond of palm, to those who know
Her mysteries will show;
the rest of us can only guess.