Young Writers Project is a creative online community of teen writers, photographers and artists, which has been based in Vermont since 2006. Each week, VTDigger features the writing and art of young Vermonters who publish their work on youngwritersproject.org, a free, interactive website for 12- to 18-year-olds. To find out more, visit youngwritersproject.org, or contact Executive Director Susan Reid at sreid@youngwritersproject.org and 802-324-9538.
It’s human nature to look to our own past to better understand our present. We seek identity not only through our profession, interests, aesthetics and relationships, but also in where — and whom — we come from. On a personal journey to find herself, this week’s featured poet, Galya Siegel-Bromberg of Thetford, wonders at the roots of her ancestors.
If you were to trace my roots
Galya Siegel-Bromberg, 12, Thetford
If you were to trace my roots,
what would you see?
Would my past be full of kings and queens,
royalty,
people who had everything handed to them?
Or would my ancestors be
heroes,
warriors?
Villagers,
voyagers?
Weavers,
painters?
Civilians?
If you were to trace my roots,
would they be silver and delicate,
like tree branches in winter?
Would they be every color
mixed into a spiderweb?
Do my roots define me?
Am I my ancestors?
If you were to trace my roots,
would they be a straight road
with no bumps or hills,
an easy path,
or would they be filled
with mistakes and troubles,
wars and fights —
but also
celebrations and parties,
accomplishments,
joy,
smiles and love?
If you were to trace my roots…
I would like to see.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Young Writers Project: ‘If you were to trace my roots’.