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Politics and Activism

Poetry On Odyssey: Heritage?

A poem about not knowing your heritage, from the black perspective.

Nakita Kira Tsunami
May 14, 2019
Illinois State University
28
Poetry On Odyssey: Heritage?
https://unsplash.com/photos/9cx4-QowgLc

Heritage, what's that

I'm black

I'm black

I'm black

I'm black

I have no other answer

I draw blanks

Embarrassment

Confusion

I don't know

I don't know

I don't know!

There's this emptiness

Like something is missing

As though a continent shape hole

Was carved into my mind

Into my soul

I don't know

Who I am

Where did I come from

I WISH I could take a trader finger

And draw a map that charts where I began

I feel ignorant yet I pride myself in my knowledge

There isn't an index or glossary

For the uncharted

The unmentioned

The undeclared

The undone history

Of what I see in the mirror

My family looked at me with tilted heads

And squinted eyes when I asked how do you define tradition? What is our heritage?

One family member responded

Heritage, what does that mean?

So now I know that knowledge is beyond my reach and I apologized and left feeling defeated



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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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