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Thursday, May 7, 2015

Somewhere in Africa


Somewhere in Africa
(The Mitochondrial Eve)

I.
From somewhere in East Africa
Came one woman
First.

From her ancient flesh
& spirit she

Created
Not accidental mutants,
Not offspring of some now
Extinct monkey.

One mother
Who held in her womb
All glorious genetic oceans
Of human earth

All lines converge within her:
The diversity of nations, lineage
Of kings, the destiny
Of time.


II.
From this one mother
Flows all human
History:

The vague nagging memory
Of a beauteous garden
Where she once
Walked

& spoke as a friend.

Her own children
Intended to heal all time,
To flourish in hard, sweat
Labored lands,

Become stained by blood
Of son upon son, sacrificed too
Soon, as a Lamb out
Of season.

Her heart’s travail, a sharp sword,
Both curse & mercy, a bitter
Illness & a cure

Divine.

Despite a serpent’s arrogance
& the naked pride
Of propagated
Blame,

Guided always
By the outpouring memory,
The conscious
Care

Guiding cosmos,
Merciful, forever moving
Towards life returned,
Completed.


III.
Original strands of mitochondrial DNA
Pass unbroken in providential
Planned order,

Sent as secret genetic coding
Through red-soil sons
Of Noah’s
Sons:

Kingdom makers,
Race shapers, most ancient
Line of ruler-priests,

Fathers
Of each hued people;
Made of one forgotten kin
From one maternal
Blood.

From before time, an unforgotten mother,
Saved in time by her own Creator;
Firstborn; Pre-existent; both
Made & Unmade;
Fully Human;
Divine;

Her own distant son, the Lamb
Come at last, born, scorned
& Crucified, risen again
To take her very
Hand.

In full Love,
He finally knits her fall
Tying her back to the strong
Threads of heaven.

Placing
Her deepest longings,
Returning them safe again
To the Holy garden
Scheme

Where she now lives:
            Ancient
                        Honored
                                    Fallen
                                                & Redeemed.


Matushka Elizabeth Perdomo

2 comments:

ofgrace said...

So beautiful! Thank you for sharing.

Alice C. Linsley said...

You are welcome!