Where I'm From

I am from ballet slippers,

            From Nike and Gatorade.

I am from the near city activity bubble;

            Night stars, people with plenty to do,

            Where it tasted sweet to not know boredom.

I am from the oak and the pine trees,

            From the caterpillars,

Crawling up my arms onto the branches that held the birds

As they sang their sweet morning hellos;

I am from the Christmas advents and loud laughter

            From Gaga and Grandad’s backyard,

            And Chris’s basketball games.

I’m from the dancers and singers and painters and readers and drawers and writers and creators and bakers;

            And the jokesters.

From “Never give up” and

            “Practice, practice, try your best.”

I’m from the contemporary Baptist pew,

            Who drink and eat and believe that we have free will to glorify God.

I’m from Richmond, Virginia; Verona, Big Island, Bedford, Yorktown, & Charlottesville,

            From oysters and mashed potatoes.

From the time that my brother put crackers in his diaper to save his snack for later,

            The time my sister put herself in time out by hiding under the table.

Pictures and quotes spill out of scrapbooks;

            They memorialize friends, family, events, celebrations, gatherings, milestones;

I am from the moderate South,

From the women who have created opportunity,

From the education that can elevate and inspire,

From the movers and shakers and dreamers,

From the hard workers who create their own in this world.