The Roots of Twenty-Four

I am rich with the history of my forefathers
their blood is my blood
their pain, sorrow, joy
mine

I am the compounded noise of a raging past
water thick and heavy
with sweat from their toil

I live in the bosom of yesterday
tucked within a mind that says never
but a body that says why not

I come here to seek truth
and in truth find freedom

But, when I breathe, it's with the breath of a thousand years

found in the heartbeat of just twenty-four