Where I'm From -- Written for a Credentialing Celebration

I’m from

years of mirrors

reflecting back at me

the worst of my fears:

that I’ll grow up

to be just like him.

I’m from

long nights at sea

a million miles away

witnessing the worst—

and best of humanity.

Open heart and open arms

I confronted misery,

and learned to bring healing

to them and me.

I’m from

broken promises

a tarnished ring

by inner darkness,

costing nearly everything.

I’m from

this road ain’t easy.

I’m from

hard knocks,

knocked down,

knocked out,

until I stopped fighting myself,

until I embraced that

the life I lived—

isn’t solely for me.

I’m from

growing up

and finding my purpose

stitched in a lifelong dream

from which I was running,

believing the lies in the mirror:

that it was never meant to be.

But here I am,

and here I stand,

humbled in the presence

of those who believed in me,

even when I didn’t believe

in myself.

I’m from

my wife who cheered

and chided me along—

never shy to tell me

whenever I was wrong.

My son and daughters

who taught me to be a dad,

and not just a father.

I’m from

brilliant, beautiful minds,

both here and elsewhere;

and from mentors

who made me better than I am.

I’m from

Dr. Kevin Cordi,

and Mrs. Bernadette Hamilton,

who in grade nine

caught me in time,

without whom

 I wouldn’t be here,

without whom 

I wouldn’t be here.

I’m from

finally acknowledging

my gifts

and seizing my dream,

and realizing the life I live

isn’t for me,

but for redeeming,

teaching,

and helping to build up

humans who are better

than I could ever be.

Where I'm From

I’m from letting go
of all hope for a better past.

I’m from I
who restoreth mine own soul,
from discovering light and divinity
imprinted within me.

I’m from defiant hope
and healing—
rejecting the audacity
of our fathers’ fathers’ fathers’
insistence
that this is all we’ll ever be.

I’m from the Fool,
boldly stepping forward
on perilous paths
toward destinations unknown—
knowing that even if I die,
I first yet lived.

I’m from seeking stillness,
tracing spiritual lines backwards,
and untangling the knotwork
of generational curses—
getting to the root
of all this debris.

I’m from the healing arts
and the Lefthand Path,
cleansing and exorcising
spirits and people
drawing out the worst in us.

I'm from choosing myself.

I'm from choosing me.