I Am Not My Ancestors
I am not my ancestors
I knew I couldn’t trust you
You left things behind and caused so much pain to your family
You abandoned your people and lost your history
I lost cultures that I will never fully know
I am not my ancestors
I was taught to love you
Your skin, your hair, your eyes, our traditions, our pride
But, I learned to hate you
Got people saying “go back to where you came from!”
So, why didn’t you?
I am not my ancestors
And it’s not what you think
Not the ones who were shipped off like an international package
Not the ones whose land and people were erased for gentrification
I am not my ancestors
The ones whose faces are stained red from all the blood of the black and brown souls they stole for energy
I am not my ancestors
When I look in the mirror, the image looks very different
Oh, how disgusted you would be
I am your worst nightmare
I am not my ancestors
See, we are not the same
I exude empathy and justice
We are not the same
When I lose, I don’t retaliate to feel pride
We are not the same
I won’t freeze time for others while I time travel myself
We are not the same
I don’t have to fake the power that I naturally have
I am not my ancestors
And I wouldn’t want it any other way
