A Call to Home
Issue No. 6: Food, Nutrition, and Access in Our Communities
Words - Ośunkoya Chavon
En Spanglish
A journey, An adventure
She wanted it
An eating disorder
La consumía
Yet raised by chefs
and inspired by the colors that always dressed the dinner table after school
filled with conversations sobre su herencia
y las tradiciones that shaped her family
Learned the ways of herbalism
Learned the spices del Caribe
Learned el ritmo del cielo
Guisado dulce. Una vida llena
a SunBelly full of ritmo, cultura, medicina
Drawn to the Sun, the adventure began
Drawn out West, she swam and swam
con su herencia profunda y su nombre fuerte
Stumbled into a health food store
Found peace, found healing, found family
Felt the earth, felt the sand
She swam and swam
Kissed by the sun
Led by the moon
Sweat turned into therapy
Kitchen baile turned into chants for home
Chants pa’ la gente that taught her, that healed her
Y for the people she knew she’d one day heal
Irresistible colors
“You want a plate shuga”
This knowledge need be shared
Ain’t no time to waste
Swam and swam
They won’t keep us from each other
We are our greatest medicine
Swam and swam
See… what a time this is we’re in...
Aprenderemos los pasos
Las recetas
las llaves del Sol
Una SunBelly llena
Llena del dolor que mis ancestros sobrevivieron
Y también de su poder
Ese poder that we call into our kitchens, into our gardens, into our courtrooms
Sovereignty will be ours.
Ain’t got nothing but time
to reclaim
y pa’ aprender de nuevo las reglas de la tierra
Y del cuerpo
See… in whatever way,
and whatever space we need to be in. We gon’ get this healing
My people will eat.
and we eatin’ good!
In English
A journey, An adventure
She wanted it
An eating disorder
It consumed her
Yet raised by chefs
and inspired by the colors that always dressed the dinner table after school
filled with conversations about her heritage
and the traditions that shaped her family
Learned the ways of herbalism
Learned the spices of the Caribbean
Learned the rhythm of the sky
Sweet stew. A full life
a SunBelly full of rhythm, culture, medicine
Drawn to the Sun, the adventure began
Drawn out West, she swam & swam
with her deep heritage & strong name
Stumbled into a health food store
Found peace, found healing, found family
Felt the earth, felt the sand
She swam and swam
Kissed by the sun
Led by the moon
Sweat turned into therapy
Kitchen dance turned into chants for home
Chants for the people that taught her, that healed her
and for the people she knew she’d one day heal
Irresistible colors
“You want a plate shuga”
This knowledge need be shared
Ain’t no time to waste
Swam and swam
They won’t keep us from each other
We are our greatest medicine
Swam and swam
See...what a time this is we’re in...
We’ll learn the steps
The recipes
The keys to the sun
A full SunBelly
Full of the pain that my ancestors went through
and also full of their power
That power that we call into our kitchens, into our gardens, into our courtrooms
Sovereignty will be ours.
Ain’t got nothing but time
to reclaim
and to relearn the ways of the earth
and of the body
See...in whatever way,
and whatever space we need to be in. We gon’ get this healing
My people will eat.
and we eatin’ good!
