i am accused of tending to the past

We are Testing Bombs (M.A. Reilly, 2011)

i am accused of tending to the past 

         -   Lucille Clifton


i am accused of tending to the past 
as if i made it, 
as if i sculpted it 
with my own hands. i did not. 
this past was waiting for me 
when i came, 
a monstrous unnamed baby, 
and i with my mother's itch 
took it to breast 
and named it 
History. 
she is more human now, 
learning languages everyday, 
remembering faces, names and dates. 
when she is strong enough to travel 
on her own, beware, she will.