In offering for the wisdom, strength and love of the Mothers of my people

Yemaya, Oshun, y Oya

Yemaya, Oshun, y Oya
Mothers of my people
Mothers of Africa
You who watched your stolen children
Float away on great big boats—so, so very long ago.
Since then you have watched us
You have loved us,
You never forgot us
And many of us never forgot you.
And so your spirits followed us to these shores
You moved among us in these new lands
To Brazil, Cuba, Trinidad, America, and all across
this continent.
You called forth your children
To remember, and we remembered.
Your protected us down through the ages
Yemaya, Mother of the oceans, you offered water
for our thirsty souls.
Oshun of the sweet waters, Goddess of love,
You reminded us to love and take care of each other.
Oya, Mother of the Winds, Fire and Flames
Through all the terrible times, you were there.
helping us to keep the flame of hope alive within us
and to never give up, or give in and to keep on fighting.
You taught us to remember our ancestors.
We uttered your names—Yemaya, Oshun, y Oya,
Mothers of my people!
We called out to you,
You heard us, you answered us and you came to us,
And we have remembered your power, your presence and your love.
Yemaya, Oshun, y Oya, Mothers of our people
Mothers of those Africans long, long ago
From whom we sprang, from whom we were stolen
Our ancestors, our Mothers, we honor you, we utter your names
YEMAYA, OSHUN, OYA!