Plagues and Famines

For generations, my ancestors
Have called themselves Americans,
But the great bulk of them,

With few exceptions, descended
From Europeans. What it means
Is that I can be fairly certain that,

In addition to passing unscathed
Through 20th-century war generations
And Civil War generations and colonial

Desperations, my ancestry
Includes survivors of the Black Death,
The Great Famine, the Roman Caesars,

And assorted other disasters, living
Conveniently without ever failing
To reproduce in the form

Of further survivors like them.
This goes back a long time.
It's hard to find a place in the books

That was never subject to terrible
Destructions, diseases, and depredations.
Yet here I am, one among billions

Waiting on the next round of selection
To tell whatever descendants we've left
Who among us was worthy of tormenting.