Maybe that’s why you searched for it. Not to find a song—but to find a feeling you couldn’t name. A remembering. A return to the altar of your own roots.

Would you like a different tone (darker, comedic, or longer) or a poem inspired by the same theme?

Adaobi Ikeh grew up in the Eastern part of Nigeria (Enugu or Anambra State, based on dialect clues in her other works). She was raised in the Anglican or Catholic tradition, where ancient hymns were sung without drums or synthesizers—just voices, a harmonium, and perhaps a wooden bench rhythm. Her mother and grandmother were choir mistresses.