There aren’t enough words to name all of my ancestors:
to give homage to the sea-farers, Lucy and Howard;
to acknowledge my teachers, Emily, Walt, and Herman;
to exalt my grandmothers, Silence, Patience, and Mercy;
to honor my siblings: Sister Cat, Brother Badger, as well
as my lizard and spider relations, not so far removed;
to include bushy-headed oaks stretching out their arms;
to praise the great, great, ever-so-great paramecium
and prokaryotes, emerging, procrastinating, exploring,
and to contemplate, above all, the dazzling dust of stars.
— Elizabeth Schultz
The Coop: A Poetry Cooperative 