Alvin Ailey II Dancers
How the young dancers lift arms,
that curve, that precision,
as if all were one bird, about to fly.
"The People Could Fly." (*)
The young Ailey dancers
study the iconic postures,
the women's wide skirts, the big fans,
the exuberant setting of the old, old hymns.
"Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel?"
hatred and white supremacy running rampant,
then and now.
"Going Home to Be With God."
Out in the street, I fight back tears,
for the wonder of it all,
for the moment of sisterhood,
("don't stand near me or we'll both be crying...")
for the children somehow knowing:
diversity, equity and inclusion is the pinnacle,
the best of us all.
Annelinde Metzner
February 21, 2026
* The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales is a 1985 collection of twenty-four folktales retold by Virginia Hamilton and illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. They encompass animal tales (including tricksters), fairy tales, supernatural tales, and tales of the enslaved Africans (including slave narratives).
The People Could Fly (Random House, 1985)
Ailey II dancers in "Revelations"
