Where I am from

Where I am from

I am from the dark soil of vineyards
first seeded by Roman conquerors
and still yielding a famous Riesling
on the high slopes of the Rhine River.

I am from the dimmed hopes
of parents who rarely spoke of
war-time childhood wounds
but nursed them to the bitter end.

I am from Viking blood,
the early ones who left
known earth behind
to sail into the distant horizon.

I am from Africa’s
red savannah dust,
still searching for Grandfather’s face
among the strangers of the world.

I am risen from the burning stakes
of the Middle Ages,
quick to anger when dark forces
corral women and children.

I am a refugee from
the harsh religion of science;
I find shelter with plant spirits
and the un-nameable wisdom
of deep green trees.

Annette Naber