I sometimes think of where I come from
And I close my eyes tightly
Imagining those dark faces
Even lighter ones staring back at me
Puzzled by me
I’m their future
A girl they do not understand
Technology has tried wiping away
The culture that was passed down to me
Through veins
Flowing with the beat of African drums
Practicing middle age rituals
They helped build the pyramids in the heated desert
Sweat pouring down their backs
Others created Stonehenge
Studied the sun centuries before Galileo
And what do I have to prove
They held strength in the palm of their hands
While I can barely handle the pain they endured
They calculated theorems
While I can’t understand the complexity of their math
I’m not their perfect child
But I want to prove to them that I am