This Is Us

History, Lost and Found

On who I am and where I came from

Photo: anand purohit/Getty Images

I found the source,
The place I sprouted from
Through all the wombs before,
Where I discovered truth
Without a blindfold at last,
Unearthed with just a little digging.
There in revered old books,
Grand old buildings,
Old street names,
Sugar, cups of tea,
But I was taught not to see.

I lost my root before birth
When someone decided
To carefully rub out history,
Keep the ugly bits quiet,
Downplay the numbers,
Tell one side.
They told me I came from
Chains, servitude, rape,
Never power, wealth, love,
Only existing to make white lives
Profitable, easy, fun.

I had to slowly peel back
Layers of seeming truth,
Then dive into the abyss
To see the wonderful lie
Giggling to itself;
Time travel centuries back
Through London, Jamaica, Ghana,
To see that I was…