Ancestor Poem by Absara Ghiorghis

She is from the Abyssinian Empire
where the sun toasts the skin
miles, deserts, oceans away

She is from the land of hidden beauty
a place that birthed Queen Sheba herself,
miles, lands, oceans away.

She is from the land of sweet papayas;
where you hear the laughs of hyenas,
miles, deserts, oceans away.

She is from the land of exotic people
where skin can look like cinnamon, cocoa, or sand;
miles, deserts, oceans away.

She is from a land inflicted with disease and poverty
where water comes from a gray bucket out of a well,
three miles;
deserts, oceans away

She is from a land where they beat on cowhide drums,
where they sing praises to God,
miles, deserts, oceans away.

She is from a land that birthed my radiant mother,
where my father learned arithmetic,
miles, deserts, oceans away

She is from a land that made me,
a place where my people are
miles, deserts, oceans away.