Saturday, March 10, 2007

Alright, mine is below. But keep in mind that I had to stay as close as I could to the template, so as to offer an easily accessible example to my students.



Where I’m From

I’m from wheat pennies.
From Big K and hand-built homes.
I’m from wood-panelings,
(dark glue composites,
and the still-beating hearts of trees).
I am from weeping willows.
From two wide rivers,
slowly sifting the silt
of my season-pasts.

I’m from I see the tower first and frigid water;
from Williams and Roberts.
I’m from never going to Disney World
and having to wash my hair.

I am from warm pink or yellow;
shy smiles and sweaty hands;
from shedding layer by layer,
as though sloughing off the weight of the world,
and sliding on Sundays in my slippery silky socks.

I’m from Michigan—
Shaffers, Schuelers, and Ferrys.
From sweet corn and blueberry pancakes.
From cracked red bats and broken lightning bugs,
the guilt of watching them writhe, and their salvations in jars.
I am from four heavy tomes and cardboard boxes;
8mm film, and catching a rare glimpse
into a soundless grandfather’s mind.
From hours spent listening to the same stories
told a hundred times before,
and laughing as though they were new.

I am from endless family-discovery
stolen during illicit Holiday midnights,
and new insights with the freshly fallen snow.

No comments:

Post a Comment