I look in the mirror

And see the reflection of my papa’s heritage

My Scandinavian father’s father’s father

Towers over me smiling

His eyes, swimming in brilliant colors,

Show me his-story

Norwegian bloodlines running thick

As a blizzard

His skin

Like mine,

The color of icy plains

From his mother’s hometown

 

White

 

But, my mother, she

Gifted me life

Through the latte stones

Of her birthplace

Over the Pacific Ocean

 

My native history

Wrapped in the state-flowers of her homeland

The bougainvillea vines that

Scraped away at my ancestry

Carrying blood and sweat

Like sap

Dripping down my family tree--

 

One facet regarding

My sp l it identity 

 

But what is encoded

In my DNA

Isn’t as easily displayed as the

Pigment of my skin

 

Of what my

Hazel eyes, melanin-kissed face and

Dark brown hair attempt to showcase:

 

Einzigartigkeit; Uathúlacht; Yникальность;

Unicità; Wyjątkowość; Unikhet; Singularidade;