for three quarters of a century,
but I have lasted
much longer.
I am neither white
nor black,
native nor settler,
male nor female,
gay nor straight.
I am, instead,
a representative
of all humanity,
and what limits them,
limits me,
and what hurts them,
hurts me,
and what they search for,
and long for,
is also my search,
and my longing.
Thousands of years
have sharpened
and matured
that desire.
