the roots

my roots go deep, much
deeper than I can see, down
so far down in the darkness
nourished by a younger sun,
fresher winds - they curl
in my bone, and are fed
by my blood, and yet
they nourish me, these deep
roots I cannot see
do not know

all the named people, all the
faces in my face, all the
travelling years, soil-eating
to surface here, now, to
bloom in this child
that is me

with my fair hair
and my blue eyes
the last bud on this
high branch of my family's tree

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