I Am From . . .
The following poem was written by Maggie Boyle, Hannah M., and Shari Briggs, for a Saturday evening poetry slam at the Rainier Area Annual Workshop, November 2017, in Seattle, Washington, USA. It was inspired by the poem Where I’m From, by George Ella Lyon—the 2015–2016 Poet Laureate of Kentucky, USA.
I am from wool socks that are way too big, and from Windex and Triscuits.1 MB
I am from broken TV remotes taped back together and wrestled apart, and from Husky Deli and Hamburger Helper.2 HM
I am from sheets, socks, and nightgowns waving from clotheslines, and white self-rising Sunflower cornmeal mix and slick white Crisco.3 SB
I am from the yellow stucco house with birdbaths balancing on tree stumps, homemade birthday crowns, and the smells of a simpler version of the Moosewood Cookbook. MB
I am from another episode of This Old House4 and a home that grew like an inhale of warm breath. HM
I am from a home where our decisions, fights, and love happened in the kitchen; with scratchy straw-like wallpaper in the hallway; and a backyard filled with peonies, petunias, apple and cherry trees, and mud just for me. SB
I am from yelling at each other while we hunt for a Christmas tree to cut down and making inappropriate jokes at inappropriate moments,
From Vivian, Lillian, and Piper Ann MacDonald Boyle, who switched to Piper Martinez for two years and is now Piper Ann MacDonald Boyle again. MB
I am from ice cream after dinner and pride in work that snips your fingers and keeps you out till dinnertime,
From James, and Merril, and Severiva. HM
I am from relatives who stay up all night waiting for our headlights to shine on the half-mile gravel drive, and from folks who go visiting on front porches, sitting in swings and sipping iced sweet tea,
From Larry and Polly Briggs, Ansil and Mildred Briggs, and Flossie Belle Sheridan and J.W. Carner. SB
(Present Time 191, April 2018)
1 Windex is a common brand of window cleaner in the United States. Triscuits are a common type of U.S. snack cracker.
2 Husky Deli is a longtime delicatessen in Seattle, Washington, USA. Hamburger Helper is a U.S. convenience food consisting of boxed pasta with packets of powdered sauce and seasonings.
3 Crisco is a brand of shortening popular in the United States.
4 This Old House is a U.S. television series that follows house remodeling projects over a number of weeks.