Where I'm from

Last week we wrote "I am from" poems for our learning component: an interesting anthropological exploration into our various childhoods. Here's how mine turned out:


I am from the window seat
from library books and Sunday night sundaes.
I am from the big backyard sloping downhill, rife with adventure, the swingset over alligator ground and the tulip poplar with branches too high to climb.
I'm from Montessori preschool and too-young-for-this-grade.
I am from live-cut Christmas trees, from the farm with the hunt for the candy canes and cups of cocoa at the finish.
I'm from traveling every summer and Brenneman family arguments
from Constance Elaine and Margaret May.
I'm from the teachers, the educated, and the globally conscious idealists
from "Drink your liquids!" and "Be more assertive."
I'm from songs at bedtime and devotions after dinner, from the swimming hole baptism on a cold November morning.
I'm from the Shenandoah Valley by way of Swiss-German Mennonites
from magic cookie bars and farmers' market bounty
from my father's marathons, my mother's triathlons, and my sister's summer swim meets.
I'm from choir trips and rigorous rehearsals, from "All music must dance,"
from Grandma's stories and Grandpa's 3 things.
I'm from the guest bedroom with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, always cool in the summer, and the single rocking chair
and the stories that ushered me through childhood
holding me close.