i am accused of tending to the past <br />as if i made it, <br />as if i sculpted it <br />with my own hands. i did not. <br />this past was waiting for me <br />when i came, <br />a monstrous unnamed baby, <br />and i with my mother's itch <br />took it to breast <br />and named it <br />History. <br />she is more human now, <br />learning languages everyday, <br />remembering faces, names and dates. <br />when she is strong enough to travel <br />on her own, beware, she will.<br /><br />Lucille Clifton<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/i-am-accused-of-tending-to-the-past/
