AS WE DO the work of decolonization, it is difficult to separate and distill who we are into one generational lineage. We cannot pick and choose the biological ancestors who are responsible for our existence in this terrestrial plane and time. I have struggled with acknowledging and accepting that my bloodlines are made up of oppressed and oppressor. Healing, true healing, is facing truths that many of us want to run away from. This poem, “Divine Right,” reveals my process of facing realities that do not sit comfortably with me and that I am learning to embrace. Yet to heal, we need to acknowledge that just as we are not a monolith of culture, neither were our ancestors. We do the work to heal transgenerational trauma because we are the ancestors of future generations. As we take on this responsibility to heal our lineage, we must look into our own Obsidian Mirrors to see how we can make changes that will benefit generations to come.
