I’m from letting go
of all hope for a better past.

I’m from I
who restoreth mine own soul,
from discovering light and divinity
imprinted within me.

I’m from defiant hope
and healing—
rejecting the audacity
of our fathers’ fathers’ fathers’
insistence
that this is all we’ll ever be.

I’m from the Fool,
boldly stepping forward
on perilous paths
toward destinations unknown—
knowing that even if I die,
I first yet lived.

I’m from seeking stillness,
tracing spiritual lines backwards,
and untangling the knotwork
of generational curses—
getting to the root
of all this debris.

I’m from the healing arts
and the Lefthand Path,
cleansing and exorcising
spirits and people
drawing out the worst in us.

I am from choosing myself.