Toppling the Pillars of the Big House

Abstract

I wrote this collection of poems in order to create a written record of my family history. But as I listened to the stories of my family, of people who had lived decades beyond me, I began to realize that I was uncovering more than just history. What I was discovering was not confined by the limits of the past. What I was discovering was my inheritance. I learned that just as the behavior of an addict can be passed down through generations, so can the emotions of significant life experiences. The emotions created by the loss of a child, the terror of war, the brutality of abuse, natural disasters, and the daily resignation to the capriciousness of Fate I have inherited in an altered form. I see more in the mirror than my mother's hands and my father's ears. Hard bones of sadness cage all our hearts. These poems are about where I come from.