Taken Away

A Prayer to Our Ancestors from Nigeria

Oh, Beloved Ancestors,
Whose names echo through baobab branches
And whose footsteps shaped the soil of our beginnings—
We call out to you from the land where we were taken.
From rivers we did not know,
To cages carved by greed,
We became whispers in foreign wind—
But never forgot your song.

We ask now—though centuries have passed—
Forgive this America,
For what it demanded from your sons and daughters,
For what it stole beneath the cloak of civilization.
It taught us labor,
But robbed us of language.
It offered survival,
But traded away our sacred birthright.

Yet still—your blood beats in us.
We are the rhythm of your drums reawakened,
The gardens you once sowed now blooming in new soil.
We are the legacy of queens whose names were never written down,
And of warriors whose strength grew in silence.

We ask not for pity—only for your guidance.
Help us find our way home.
Not just to Nigeria as a place,
But to Nigeria as a spirit—
A return to wholeness.
May the winds carry our yearning across oceans,
May the ancestors meet us in dreams and ceremonies,
May the gates of return swing open wide.

We come not as strangers,
But as daughters and sons
Bearing offerings of resilience, memory, and love.

Signed with honor,
#STLBlackWoman by Queen LaWanda Asuquo Amaase II
St. Louis, Missouri