I was born to the exiled
To the chosen and the tested
To the ancient and the destined
To the wretched and the blessed

I was raised with kings and prophets
Holy books copied by scribes
Rules and codes of the covenant
A member of the tribe
The tribe

They drew the lines and set the limits
I knew which I could not cross
For the survival of a people
Who have wandered but never been lost

There he stood on the outside
Far from the symbols and the signs
He didn’t know what I meant when I said I was
A member of the tribe
The tribe

I said, “Don’t you know what I am?
Doesn’t it show on my skin?”
He said, “No, I see you deeper, within.”

I was tangled by tradition
Tied up in what had always been
Blood and boundaries and conditions
Between the sacred and the sin

Would he always be a stranger
With his arms open wide?
Could I meet him as a woman
Not as a member of the tribe
The tribe