I have wandered off the path that was beaten down for me
Here the brush is verdant and wild
I stumble through their reaching arms
Branches and burrs clutch and cling

Their hands batter and halt my step
Their fingers write on my flesh in black and blue
Their persistence consumes me
Their numbers confound me

and yet I love them. 

Green and alive
Shadowed and defiant
Unapologetic in survival

this is my crusade
to witness their existence
and attest to their glory.
I will carry their stories to the fire.