Our Own Kin Poem by RIC BASTASA

our own kin
name tags on my chest
genes in my flesh
our own skin
bearing our own family names
tattoos of our
marked existence as part of this
and that
roots
on our feet
and vines in our hands
wherever we go
we are us
our own kin our own skin
our identities as sons of these fathers
and mothers
as favorite grandsons
hope of the family tree
integrated
not grafts
but twigs and tendrils

despite our hatred
of the roots
we still are
leaves and
branches

how can we get away
from these that made us grow
into treetops
overlooking the mountains
of our lives

somehow there will be change
to norms
new laws for family ties
the right to take myself
from a name
to have my own house
inside my body
to get rid my veins of the
bad blood
to remove their nails
embedded on my toes
and fingers

somehow
know me as i am
and not a part
an extension of whom and
where

i have my on why you know
listen to me.