David Leo (b. 1948)
SELECTED POEMS
A History Lesson
it was history I had not lived
fragments of other people’s woes
faces dying to tell the stories
i was reluctant to read
i did not forgive
i just didn’t want to know
and shoulder but to what avail
the pain and misgivings
of a past generationi had traded my father’s sorrows
for Santoshi’s friendshiptoday i feel the betrayal
Santoshi’s people rewriting history
denying a past i had not disinherited
awash with shame
that i too had denied
my father’s right of placeby my disinheritance
he became a prisoner of his past
locked in anger, pain and futilityand by his eternal silence
i become deprived of the privilege
to finally put the ghosts to restcan Santoshi forgive his people
as much as I cannot forgive myself
by David Leo
from iDENTiTY (2008)
