A Babanga is a 9 link poem about grandmothers or crone figures. The form is 3-3-3, 1-1-1, 3-3-3 with a break between each sequence. The first sequence is done by the first partner, the second sequence is shared, and the last sequence is done by the second partner. The Babanga was created by Alexis K. Rotella in honor of her maternal grandmother, Irene Semenik, on March 20, 1997.
this voice that seeps
by hortensia anderson (East Coast) and an'ya (West Coast)
sweet herbs
baubbling in a cauldron
a healing broth
hunched over
wrapped in soft grey wool
that she wove herself
cool fingers
stroke my fevered brow
and tanled hair
she knows the names of all the birds
'tis a murder of crows she softly croons
this voice that seeps through snow and sleep
bedtime story
she gestures toward
a total eclipse
fortune teller
the dark corner of sky
in a crystal ball
collecting the may
in her white wicker basket
a gentlewoman