"There is a full moon tonight!"
The town crier squealed with all her might,
Her voice rising over the rooftops,
Piercing the quiet night like a spear of light.

The people stirred.
Mothers hushed their children with knowing smiles,
Fathers looked to the sky, nodding in silent approval.
The air smelled of roasted fish, plantains and palm wine,
A promise of a night to remember.

The Gong Calls

"The moonlight dance will commence in full,"
She called again, her voice urgent, excited.
"When you hear the wooden gong!"

At last! At last!
The time had come.
The time for joy,
The time for dance,
The time to break out into song.

Then— Clung! Clung! Clung!
The first strike of the gong echoed through the village,
Vibrating against the mud walls and woven thatched roofs.
Then another. And another.
The night, alive with sound and promise.

A Night to Remember

The young men rushed forward, bare feet pounding against the earth,
Drums followed, rolling like distant thunder.
The maidens twirled, laughter like silver bells in the air,
Their wrappers swirling in bright colors under the golden glow of the moon.

"It is time!" the elders declared.
And dance they did—
With all their might, with all their hearts,
With feet that knew the rhythm of generations before them.

Tonight, they sing.
Tonight, they dance.
Tonight, they let their sorrows go.

The moon watched over them,
A silent guardian, a witness to their joy.
And as the night stretched long into dawn,
The town crier’s voice still echoed in their hearts—

"There is a full moon tonight!"

Written By Ndali Modebe