I Cannot Justify

Adrienne Young

I Cannot Justify

I am a white girl but what was I before?

An Onondaga opening the door

Coulda been a pilgrim hungry for to pray

Or a roaming buffalo soon to fade away

Was I a little boy hiding underground

An angry soldier sent to shoot John Brown

Might have been red clay staining tired feet

Of a broken army suffering defeat

Let me grow from these clothes

That cling so tightly to my soul

How can I justify the narrow vantage

Of these eyes

Such a good disguise, I cannot justify

A hooded demon did I wear bloody boots

Did I fall like thunder torn from ancient roots

Black wing vulture peckin? heartbroke bones

Or was I an orphan born to die alone

I am a white girl but what was I before?