I am from

I am from

I am from the darkness of Africa, imaginary drums that

Beat in the night- dry heat that shimmers off the Veldt at

Noon day- the concrete jungle that rises out of the grasslands

And mine dumped hills of the wide Transvaal.

I am from the whiteness of old British rule, the practical

Prejudice of orthodox Dutch ancestry that loved this wild

Untamable land.

I am from my mother’s oasis, a smiling dimpled boy

Protected from oppression and cruelty by the high walls

And razor wire fences of my urban home.

I am from the sanctuary of green hills of my adopted

Homeland, the red clay which gets under the fingernails

While playing games with my brother in the shade.

I am from innocence and wonder and books

The piano I was forced by belt to play those old songs.

I am from unknown religion, Sunday morning meetings in

Houses of friends who were strangers to me.

I am from prayers of separation and dinner at the table

From the Kentucky-fried friend food believing in our God

Over those of the others.

I am from dreamy winters of snow filled holidays

Eating chocolate cake hot from my mother’s cookbooks.

I am from the corner of the schoolyard because I talked funny,

Couldn’t run right and crying when I got angry because they

Rejected me and made fun of as well.

I am from the fear of being abandoned in crowds by my brother,

The bliss of my father’s rollercoaster wild side,

The comfort of my mother’s loving hands which crafted

My imagination with word-smithing and painted serenades

Out into the ever widening world.

I am from the darkness of the past, the shadows around the present and the threat and promise of the future.

I am from such secrets that are hidden away in sock drawers

Squirreled inside the memory of trees

Left under a desperate man’s mattress

Not wanting to be revealed for who he is but what he had wanted to be.

I am from an idea and a wish

But it is not all that makes me or directs me to be

I am who I decide to be although I will not forget,

I will not forget where I am from.