As a component of Weight of a World, artist and teacher Rebecca Keller guided the latest chapter in her ongoing series of Excavating History projects. Rebecca, with the assistance of Claire Arctander, will lead a group of creative people in a generative project as they collectively ask:

What is history? Who writes it? How do objects intersect with it?

Participating artists Jeanette Andrews, Jeremy Bolen, Jaclyn Jacunski, Jesse Malmed, Maggie Queeney, Patrick 'Q' Quilao, Alison Ruttan, Ruby T & Stacy Tolbert.

Here
In my neighborhood
buildings
homes
and lots
guarded by chain-link fences.

The fence keeps out wind
collecting menus
flamin’ Cheeto bags
plastic grocery bags
cigarillo wrappers
green, brown and clear glass bottles.

It is a crude security system
deterring little shits
jumping the rose twisted wall
and stealing your bike.

Walking my block, I squint
Take in the warm West Side sunset
cars play music so loud
the base shakes my hoop earrings
the bangles on my wrist
My body vibrates.

My neighbor pushes a snack cart
coming from the baseball games in the park.
It jiggles and has a bike horn
decorated with dangling
stuffed bags of bright orange chicarone.

She calls to tell me
She is here
I get cherry flavored ice
She turns and murmurs something in Spanish
To the boys playing soccer in the street
the man sitting on the stoop.

Then she says back to me
“Come buy my tamales
I have bean and chicken.”
We pass the chain link fence woven with
yellow
red
pink roses
I am invited in.

Smiling faces in the kitchen
hugs and I stumble through kisses
on both cheeks
Aunts
Uncles
a grandmother
cousins
are all there.
I like their home.

She explained to me
her husband bought the property
when no one would even
drive through
the neighborhood

She points to her neighbor
who has video cameras dotted all over his house
that wasn't very long ago.

Her husband planted the roses
for her
when they moved in.
“And now,
look at you
here”

More of their family moved in
they saved
to expand the kitchen
and now
she has four grandchildren
has things to protect
here
each adding to the dream.