• I am from massacres,
    from brave seafarers,
    I am from betrayal,
    from rulers risking all,
    I am from blood splattered on street cars,
    from freaks willing to show it,
    I am from drunkards in a dreary house,
    from brothers hand in hand,
    I am from low-waged coal-miners,
    from pride in survival and the past,
    I am from a broken body stuffed in a shoebox,
    from the cry telling the world I’m here,
    I am from the hardened hearts of veterans,
    from runaways who fought a battle against war,
    I am from loaded dice in a hidden cabinet,
    from tears at a gunshot on a sunny day,
    I am from the confused who run from reality,
    from the shining light in a world of darkness,
    I am from corrupted oppressors,
    from men who pace streets for equal rights,
    I am from laughing sofa bandits,
    from halls of the remembered,
    I am from accidents and scandals,
    from miracles of lives long lived,
    I am from the boy who stole Jesus from the manger,
    from clarity that lightens the confused,
    I am from cold-blooded killers,
    and from healers and life-givers alike.
    I am from racing streets lights, barking dogs, scraped knees, speeding shopping carts, cold hands that carry a tired child to bed. I am from crowded rooms, loud music, bare-feet, baggy clothes, backward clocks, sacred names, tattered books, mental hospitals, and broken glasses.
    I am from the hope that turns the world.
    From moments like these.