I became me in my mother's womb
In the weaving together of all the generations past…
The stargazers and homesteaders
Plantation owners and slaves
Men and women
Strong and weak
Knitted into one
Cell by cell.

My mother sees them
One in my toothy smile
And one in my noisy tears
In my stubborn stance
And my easy laugh.
I see them in my wide nose
And my wild hair.
I feel them
In my love of lightning splitting the sky
And my fear of standing midway on a bridge.
I call it all me.
I pick it all apart
Wanting to throw pieces of them away
But I can't.
God has rearranged all their pasts
Into Me
And into something new
Carried a step farther
Blended into all that is my husband
And all that came before him
Merged into this new babe in my arms
Who is so like me
And not me at all
The sum of everything
And the difference of being
His own person.