Legacy In 17 Haiku Poem by Myra Jefferson

Both parents sterile
Such a paradox
I come anyway

Like the bloom and fruit
A most bountiful harvest
Without and within

Their mouths utter words
That their eyes disagree with
And I can see it

Too young to be old
Bored by school yard equipment
I dream of real flight

I set up my house
I do as I please in it
But I must pay too

Legal confinement
Without bars on the windows
Come from words unsaid

The smile that he wears
While viciously attacking
Offends honest men

The truth I once knew
Has returned to reclaim me
Straight from my own womb

The fragrance I breathe
And for shame became used to
Is stronger this time

Must not neglect it
But tenderly encourage
Less it fades again

From the love within
More concern for my young ones
Than for my own life

Foresight is vision
Erasing dark nightmares
Lighting the pathway

To walk the right path
As posterity follows
Is life's greatest joy

As I taste the bread
My young ones devour it
Gain more strength than I

Of paradox born
By contradictions brought up
Honesty matures

In one family
Determination has joined
Memory and hope

Our mirror proclaims
As we dance proudly past it
We know who we are