Ever since I was a child

Excavating rocks in the backyard

I knew I wanted to be like Indiana Jones

Like Lara Croft and most of all

Like Evelyn Carnahan from The Mummy.

I wanted to understand the world

And how it got to this point

By learning about its past.

I want to know how my ancestors

Left Africa

And made it to the corners of the world

And survived.

I want to know why we believe

The things we believe

And why we developed our instincts.

I want to know why entire civilizations

Were wiped off the face of the planet

And why everything has to crumble

To dust.

I want to know how we think about

The past so that I can know how

The future might think of us.

If I can see in our past

What our future will see in us

I can figure out how to change today

For a better memory tomorrow.