Where I’m From

By Giftbelle Lomotey

In this piece you are about to read, I am telling you more about who I am and exploring all the layers of my identity. I use the words “I am” to highlight the different places, physical and emotional, that have made me who I am today.

I am from countless early mornings and late nights
Waking up every day to be better than who I was yesterday
Working every day, to put myself in a position to be successful and succeed 
Working every day just to be better

I am my parents’ greatest accomplishment
Who would have thought their union would have made blood run through the body of a Queen? 
Who would have thought their byproduct would be a young Queen?
Who would have thought they would create such a Powerful and Beautiful being? 

I am from Ghana and Nigeria, the land of the original creators and inhabiters of the earth
I am from a land filled with beautiful brown bodies, a culture so rich
If culture was currency I would need no money to survive
I am from a place where my people take care of each other, even at the cost of our own lives I am from royalty
I have enough power in my veins to make the earth shake and bow before me 
 
I am also from the South Bronx, and here’s a few things I can tell you 
In my Bronx we cannot see the stars at night
To remind us of how far we can go and what we can achieve
In my Bronx most people are bunched up in 5x5 containers 

Oops! I really meant apartments
In my Bronx living in a roach- and rodent-infested home is a norm
But
Let me tilt your head the other way
In my Bronx you can travel to the other side of the world without having a passport 
All you have to do is knock on your neighbor’s door and say “Hello”
But be careful, this is still New York.
In my Bronx people move their tongues in so many different ways
You would think we have three tongues
In my Bronx people Hustle like they know they’re dying tomorrow
Hard work is a must and we value life like it is a Treasure 
I am from hard work and many prayers
I bent my knees many nights and kneeled over my bed 
And prayed for everything I have now
And to be everything I am now
I am from the hardest parts of my childhood
And the most beautiful parts of my surroundings
I ultimately and favorably am from me.