Benin Lemus

An Afternoon at The Record Parlour 

I want to buy vinyl that will transport me home
to the mythological Africa of my dreams

the ones etched in Ethiopia/Nigeria/Malawi/Burundi
who claims me  

where is my great/great/great grandfather from
do I share his wide smile/skin like rich coffee  

who was I before Carolina/California/Alabama/Oklahoma
before Clotilda

before ship manifests written in perfect calligraphy: 
seeds/spices/Negroes

the land of mountain lions 
coasts etched in ivory 

creation stories comfort me/conjuring myself
as healer/mystic/farmer spirit flourishing 

if I place the needle in the groove will I hear
home before this home

coras/djembes/raffia/cowries
a sonic beckoning

the blues bin calls/sorrow and salvation 
Robert Cray/Strong Persuader

I answer/from generations long past
the voices of distant Africans 

weeping in the aisles/Cray plays five strings
plays Georgia/cries the Atlantic Ocean/lands on shores

Akan/Ewe/Ga
his beginning/great/great/great/grandmother

humming songs at sunrise/whispering at sunset
I see you/I know you/I remember you   

holding the record/I hold everything lost 
needle in the groove like a slave ship sailing back 

Benin Lemus (she|her) is a poet and an educator-librarian. Her work has been published online and in print, most recently in the anthology, 2020: The Year That Changed America, part of poet and journalist Kevin Powell’s writing workshop. Benin has performed at Pasadena LitFest, Center Theatre Group and The World Stage in historic Leimert Park. An active member of the Community Literature Initiative (CLI) and the Sims Library of Poetry, she seeks to create equity and racial justice through the written word. Her debut poetry collection, Dreaming In Mourning will be published by World Stage Press in late summer 2022. She lives in South Los Angeles with her family. You can follow her on IG @benin_lemus.