What I know of inheritance in my genealogy
My father christened me in names
belonging to my grandfather.
My grandfather has a history
where his voice is drowned in his scream from sleep each night.
The only time he muttered his nightmare
it was his boyhood revisiting him like a god demanding an offering from a handicapped
because he wore the garment of manhood before dawn.
If there's one thing I know about inheritance in my genealogy
I'll call it Grandpa’s Nightmare.
That's why Father has on his forehead
a mark of the father that fathered him
whose life orbited in the same cycle as the nightmare.
The demons that masquerade my sleep each night,
wear these names,
clamoring for my ownership,
& in the chase,
I shelter in this poem, appearing before God as a prayer.
Dear Lord, purge me.
Possess me.
Rekindle the flame of tenderness in me
and drench me in light.
The Beatnik Cowboy 
This poem is a beautiful example of how poetry can bear witness to the past while reaching for a future of healing. It’s a personal exorcism rendered with literary elegance, where memory becomes metaphor, and prayer becomes poetry. It joins the lineage of works that examine the intergenerational impact of trauma, echoing voices like Lucille Clifton, Ocean Vuong, and Warsan Shire, yet maintains its own unique spiritual and emotional resonance.
Great work!
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