Song of my Ancestors

I was reading Langston Hughes' The Negro Speaks of Rivers, of how he drew inspiration from the history of his people.

I thought, could I do the same?

Who are my people? Aside from the Human Race, of course, and all Life..

My people are the people of California.

I could tell of the history of California, of John Muir's Range of Light, of the tragedy and rebirth of the Indians and their Civilization.

I could tell of my people arriving at New York Harbor, of travelling West in a wagon train.

And this came to me.

(I have also been getting into Mallarme, Rimbaud and T. S. Elliott, who I learned of because Rimbaud and T. S. Elliott are mentioned in Bob Dylan songs. God, I wish I could communicate like them! They are now my favorite writers.)