I Know Who I Am

John Bauer-Freja. wikicommons

I know who I am.
My DNA told me —
showed me the trek
of my ancestors across
narrow bridges of land out of
Africa to march with
Germanic tribes up across
Europe. Up further into Russia and back
down into Scandinavia, where
the Vikings swept blood across
the British Isles.

.

I know who I am.
No one told me but my blood,
an infallible print across time,
surpassing assumed knowledge,
defying centuries of ignorance,
lost stories and secrets. When once
I was in a sea of sameness, I now
know my point of difference. When once
I felt adrift, I now belong. I have a place;
a proof of place. A home where my
bones can settle with ease
and my eyes can see the lands
my blood has travelled through.

.

I know who I am.
Now I am
far away from my beginnings
but at last
knowing home.