Healing Roots

by Desiraé Simmons

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I try but can’t quite place the memory
That moment I felt rooted into the history
I hear the stories blowing through the leaves
As clearly as I tattoo my life into sleeves

The nodes of connection deeply multiply
I felt grounded, even as I learned to fly

I brought with me so many doubts and questions
In my body lived generations of traumatic lessons
There was no more time to just push it aside
No more room where the hurt could simply hide

I have the power to be the best version of me
Whispered this place called Ypsilanti

She almost remembered the story of her birth
As if it was the funniest thing to happen on Earth
How many times she heard about that toilet
Everyone knew, no use changing the subject

Truly born and raised by her beloved Ypsi
She never got used to being injured, unheard, un-free

The power of her voice makes flowers bloom
Through osmosis the land taught her what comes after soon
Together, they lovingly tended to one another’s needs
She knows she is safe wherever the future leads

Her middle name means power
To the people, she’ll always remember

They recognize the wounds they’ve been healing
Change, the one constant, no longer sends them reeling
Across generations, to the time long before Momji
They tap into the wisdom of our Universe’s Energy

They think back to the place their mother once knew
Grateful at the foresight to plant a garden that grew