Heritage
poem… This is MY country!
2
February 2013
I know not when my ancestors came to this country
No dates, no names, no family crests…
I do know that they came at different times, and
some
were
already here when the first settlers landed on Plymouth Rock.
How do I know?
I know by looking at the pictures from as far back
as forever
Rainbow-black family… some light enough to pass for
white, some as black as the night
with
every shade in between.
And so I know
in
the squalid, nasty bellies of slave ships, came some
aboard
the bright and promising ships from the shores of Europe some came
and
they were welcomed and cared for
by
my nature-worshipping, resourceful ancestors whose country this already was.
So, when I hear selfish, self-centered white
Americans
speak
of “taking THEIR COUNTRY back”… I want to scream:
THIS IS MY COUNTRY! AMERICA IS MY COUNTRY, TOO!!
and
perhaps because of my heritage, it is more MY COUNTRY than yours!
My ancestors’ blood built this…
My
ancestors planted and harvested the crops that made this country the richest
nation in the world.
My
ancestors taught your ill-prepared and ill-advised ancestors how to survive in
harsh and changing climates, and how to protect themselves from famine and
disease
My
ancestors, the descendents of kings and queens, allowed your devious, thieving
ancestors to rob them of their rich and colorful heritage, to take away their
freedom, their language, their stories, their pride… to help your ancestors
build a country they stole from my indigenous ancestral line.
My
ancestors bought into an American dream that was never theirs, because every time
they got close to claiming it, to claiming even their forty acres and a mule,
the dream was snatched out of their reach by your deceptive ancestors… claiming
to take their country back.
My
ancestors believed that your lying ancestors were going to deliver on a promise
for which my ancestors marched and sang and fought and died…were fired upon with
guns and fire hoses, and had the dogs set upon them… not knowing then that the
assistance they were promised required the surrendering of what little pride
was salvaged to pass on and be instilled in the children and grandchildren… required
that the young ones buy into the slave mentality, money hungry, label grabbing,
bling-oriented culture that had been created as a trap, just in case, by some chance,
our children had managed to salvage some Black pride, Black love of self, Black
is BEAUTIFUL-ness.
America created me… by giving me all the heritages
that are mine. I inherited America.
America allowed the beating and raping, polluting my
ethnicity then blaming me for the chestnut color of my skin, the milky/ creamy
color of my sisters and brothers, the boot-black shine of my cousins, aunts and
uncles
America
created
my crinkly, nappy hair, my thick lips, my high cheekbones
created
my naturally curly hair, European nose, translucent skin tones
America created me and all the things that I am… and
am not.
America seeks to deprive me of some things they can
never take from me:
my
indomitable spirit, my natural beauty, my deep rich voices, my bodies’ rhythmic
sensual sway, my ability to look young and be energetic until the day I die…
even if I live a hundred years.
THIS IS MY COUNTRY. AMERICA IS MY COUNTRY, TOO!!
and
because of my heritage, it IS more my country than it is yours.
I AM AMERICA.
