The Gypsy and the Pilgrim

The Gypsy and the Pilgrim

4/3/2012

One summer

I spoke

With my Grandmother

And she told me stories

Of her time

As a child

With her sister

And father,

Who was an Italian Gypsy.

All I really recall

Where stories of a house

In the grass,

And playing with her sister,

Who she no longer knows,

Because one day

Her father disappeared,

Leaving her

And her sister

Behind.

But my Grandma also told me

About her adopted family,

And stories of their history.

Of how her adopted Grandmother

Met her adopted Grandfather

But they were both travelers

Going their separate ways.

They were not meant to be

Although they fell in love.

So when their children,

My great-grandmother

And great-grandfather,

Met by happen stance,

They fell in love

And righted the balance.

Then they adopted my Grandmother

Who birthed my father,

Who made me.

Though my Grandmother identifies

As an Italian Gypsy,

She was raised by a family

Who descended from Pilgrims.

Two vastly different peoples

But two similar ways.

Two families of travelers,

Two people who had no home.

But who am I?

A Gypsy or a Pilgrim?

Do I have Gypsy soul or not?

The answer?

Both…

I am Both.

I have a Gypsy soul

As well as

A European frame of mind.

I am a Gypsy and a Pilgrim.