We

We were who loved us before we were who we are,
because I was lost and curious, looking for a star

And when I found my universe, I finally had a home,
an address to belong to, never lonely when alone

Then we became a family, some strings placed in my hands,
I learned to tie them to my heart, the knots weren’t all the same

And then we grew, and we became a larger community,
with music, food, and humor… and a certain suffering

We were told we were a nation, but that nation was a dream,
because all the fairytales we learned, we wanted to believe

And now "we" is a strange word, like where we went to school,
the building’s long since been torn down, but the stories still sound cool

We’re back to where we started then, and "we" is who loves us,
not who ought to, or pretends, but truly, in spirit, and trust.

©05.12.19 ebn