us to consider the age-old question of what
makes us who we are. Here are my thoughts
Submitted to dVerse
May 16, 2019
************
A new moon trickled little light on a meagerly furnished
old farmhouse where an oil lamp illuminated the room
where the woman lay. Her labor, long and exhausting,
ended just before midnight on that February 13. and I
made my way into the world kicking and squalling
Generations of comingled blood culminated in the DNA,
double helix, molecules, chromosomes and markers
that carried the genetic traits that would be mine.
Astrologers and seekers of the miraculous mystery of
what makes us who we are have conjectured long the
correlation of the moon, the stars and the planets and
what they tell us about who we become. They would
say I am Aquarius, witty and intelligent, curious to a fault
that is sometimes annoying, spontaneous, honest and,
under pressure, sometimes obstinate and sarcastic
My genetic imprint is impacted and moulded by life
circumstances and serendipity, yet I carry it into the next
generation
Perhaps my ancestors left their footprints in the sands
of the Nile or deep in some dark forest in Africa; perhaps
they helped erect the stones in Stonehenge,
or worshiped in some kiva in the Southwest. Do I
sometimes hear their faint voices in those breathless
moments of déjà vu that leave me feeling I’ve been
there before? I remain a link in an endless chain.
I am me. I am unique.
****************
(The art is my own digital art)
I enjoyed this! You are you Bev, and you are unique - and you are an Aquarius like me so you’re pretty cooI... :-) Actually I am the perfect cusp of Aquarius ans Pisces, February 18, 1947.
ReplyDeleteSo nice to read and know more of you Bev. That you are, unique in your own way.
ReplyDeleteI'm an Aquarian too:) I love how this ends, hearing the "breathless voices" of those who have passed on who they are to you. But as a birth nerd, I loved the opening to your poem as well:)
ReplyDeleteYes yes yes Beverly. Every one us has a tap root/mycelium filament into the collective unconscious. We are like mushrooms that enjoy the compost and humus for a short time in the sun. Sorry, it isn't what you said, but I took what you said and ran with it ;)
ReplyDeleteI love all this wondering you're doing here. .... and being a link in an endless chain. I worked to trace back my genealogy.....and it just left me with more questions. I cherish the old photos I have of my grandmother and her parents....and sometimes just stare and them and try to crawl inside of them...wishing I'd known them.
ReplyDelete