30/14: A Heart With Many Rooms

I am born of a heartbeat that comes in two parts:
gentle hum of Eastern strength, unruly scuffle of Western
drive, my heart beats Flamenco and Kundiman.
I am born of a heart with no home, of monsoon and first snow,
of tongue that knows more than one mother. I am born
of conqueror and territory, my heart is of shifting borders.

I am born of whirlwind romance, my heart knows fifty ways
to say ‘touch. I am born of the pulse of a city, quickstep,
running man and hustle, then the intoxicating ways we unwind.
I am born of a room in a basement apartment, honeymoon baby
in a foreign land; of my father’s hopes and my mother’s ambitions.
I am born of athlete and academic, my heart is of muscle and reason.

I am born of unlikely circumstance, glorious of mix of all sorts.
I am born of survival and progress, mine is the heart that evolves.