We Are The Ancestors - Jennah Fakhouri

Jennah Fakhouri is an avid writer, poet and wandering spirit who seeks new experiences and destinations to tame her insatiable wanderlust.

She uses her voice to provide divergent perspectives on global issues, particularly issues related to refugees due to her own Palestinian American heritage.

Her poetry often draws on her time volunteering in Morocco, Egypt and the West Bank and her own struggle to reconcile her fragmented identity into a cohesive destination called Home.

I come from peasant stock

I come from peasant stock
arms made for plowing land
and kneading dough
over an open flame

arms made to
hold and be held
to soothe and
to scorn

i am no fragile princess
in towers of ivory
and thorns

i am blossoming seeds
and olive trees
reaching always
for the ones
just out
of reach

my legs are thick
made to withstand
an earthquake
firmly rooted
in place

unflinchingly
sure of
my right
to exist

as if to say
i am here
and i am
not going
anywhere

i come from peasant stock

my eyes
made to crinkle
at the corners
to squint in the sun
to light up from within
as if to say
Come

sit and stay

for awhile
and perhaps
i will give you
a lemon off my tree
or a basket of
tangerines

and as always
a bottle
reused and recycled
the label long
gone
filled to the brim
with liquid
gold

olive oil
a balm for the soul

i pour you some in a bowl
wrap bread and dip
beckoning for you
to try it
and perhaps
i will brew
a tea just for you

i come from peasant stock

so i see God in every tree
every rock, every bee

i do not need a
room or a man
to teach me what i see
what i taste
what i smell
what i hear
all around me

The land whispers
secrets only i can hear
and it tells me
with every rustle of leaves
and every gnarled trunk
the stories
of the people
who first planted the seeds
who tilled the land

and climbed among the trees

the women who blessed me
with strong hands and strong arms
with thick legs and wide hips

Generations of soil stuck under fingernails
and smiles like the full moon

so you see
i come from peasant stock
and i am not ashamed.