AFRICA | AMERICAN STORIES: IDENTITY AND DREAMS  

Personal History

 
I come from everywhere
like Egypt, Asia, Australia, caves, huts.
Everywhere.
I come from my ancestors
to mothers
to fathers
to now.
Now is me.
I will be an ancestor one day.
Within me I am a father with white hair and a beard.
Within me I look like everybody.
Within me there is a different person.
Within me
there is a human crying.
Within me
there is something.
I was once within me when I was dreaming.
Within me I look like somebody
that I don't know.
It is a big mystery to me.
I don't look like anybody. 
I am just about me.
A boy
writing right now
and thinking
and reading
my own poem.
That is me.
 James C., Hamilton Elementary 
 
This page is part of the "AFRICA: One Continent. Many Worlds." web site. All photographic images and text contained within these web pages ARE COPYRIGHTED and may not be commerically reproduced, or utilized in any manner, without the prior written consent of the owner. Permission is granted to educators and individuals to reproduce pages from the "AFRICA: One Continent. Many Worlds." web site for classroom or personal use. 

The "AFRICA: One Continent. Many Worlds." web site is a collaborative project between The Field Museum, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, the California African American Museum and the Armory Center for the Arts. 

All poetry and prose on this page are copyrighted and may not be reproduced with out written permission from the Armory Center for the Arts.

 Page by Kimberly Townsend