Great Grandma Rose
reminds Uncle Ray, recall
always, and on all documents
we are also indigenous.
I owe a great debt.
I defy the hue of my skin
that belies indigenous ancestors.
How long will the people
who share the white tone
of my skin continue
to fracture / the soil.
How long will those who look like me
refuse to be / accountable
for theft upon theft
of lives and labor and land,
and breath and tongues
and genealogies.
I call on all the branches
tangled in my family tree
to shield against / the storm
which calls itself / progress.
I invoke
every root of my being
to bolster the worn skin
of resistance.