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A Lamentation for Audre Lorde
(18th February 1934 – 7th November 1992)
Damirifa, Damirifa, Damirifa Due, Due, Due, Due,
Yebo afena kye wo Safohene, Safohene, Safohene.
Sister Outsider, whose name has many other spellings—hear us;
This is a song from sorrowing soldiers, as we lay our
sister to rest;
A song of suffering sisters, as we lay our soldier to rest.
Damarifa, DamrifaDue;
You who taught us, To stand eye to eye, Measure our fears,
Channel our angers:
In this world of wailing women, now we lay our warrior
to rest,
With these words of warriors weeping, as we lay our
woman to rest. Damirifa,Damirifa Due:
You who taught us: Dismantle Master’s house, Liberate his
wives, Empower his slaves:
This is a song from sorrowing soldiers, as we lay our
sister to rest;
A song of suffering sisters, as we lay our soldier to rest.
Damarifa, Damrifa Due:
You who taught us: Celebrate our difference, Affirm our
wellness, Unleash our erotic:
Into this world of wailing women; now we lay our
warrior to rest,
With these words or warriors weeping, oh we lay our
woman to rest. Damarifa, Damrifa Due
You who poured love in us: To transform our silences, Claim
our languages, And Act:
This is a song from sorrowing soldiers, as we lay our
sister to rest;
A song of suffering sisters, as we lay our soldier to rest.
Damarifa, Damrifa Due:
Damrifa, Damrifa, Damrifa Due, Due, Due,
Yebo afena kye wo Safohene, Safohene, Safohene.
⌂
Memorial Service, Rutgers University, November 1992.
Akan Proverb: Akofena Kunim ko a, woboafena kye no safohene — Meaning a retiring great warrior deserves a royal sword of rest.
Damrifa Due: An expression of sorrow and condolence, but addressed to the deceased, not the living.
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Ghanaian diplomat and internationally known poet H.E. Prof. Abena P. A. Busia, currently serving as her country’s Ambassador to Brazil, is a Professor in the Departments of English and Women’s & Gender Studies at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. She has published widely, lectured extensively, and taught workshops and master classes on curriculum transformation, around the world, in the areas of gender, race, and multi-cultural studies. She has received fellowships and awards from numerous organizations including the Rutgers University President’s Award for Distinguished Public Service. She is a Founding Board member of several international organizations, including the African Women’s Development Fund [AWDF], for which she served as the founding Program Committee Chair, and AWDF-USA, for which she served as Board Chair. She is also one of the three Project co-directors and series editors of the award winning four volume Women Writing Africa project, published by the Feminist Press (2002–2008). ◊ Ambassador Busia has given numerous interviews and poetry readings on radio, performed and read at conferences, universities, churches, and poetry and Jazz festivals around Europe, North America, and West Africa, including the celebrated New Orleans Jazz Festival and the welcoming ceremonies for Nelson Mandela on the steps of City Hall, Los Angeles. First published by the late Chinua Achebe, her poetry has appeared in various anthologies and magazines on three continents, in West Africa, North America, and Europe. As a board member of the Women’s Learning Partnership, a South-South network of women’s organizations dedicated to women’s leadership and empowerment, she is the curator of “Lifelines: The Poetry of Human Rights” presenting readings annually at the UN Commission on the Status of Women and other NGO fora. [“A Lamentation for Audre Lorde” appears in Busia’s collection Traces of a Life: A Collection of Elegies and Praise Poems, Ayebia Books: London, 2008.]
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Audre Lorde