I am from clothespins,
\nfrom Clorox and carbon-tetrachloride.
\nI am from the dirt under the back porch.
\n(Black, glistening,
\nit tasted like beets.)
\nI am from the forsythia bush
\nthe Dutch elm
\nwhose long-gone limbs I remember
\nas if they were my own.<\/p>\n
I’m from fudge and eyeglasses,
\nfrom Imogene and Alafair.
\nI’m from the know-it-alls
\nand the pass-it-ons,
\nfrom Perk up! and Pipe down!
\nI’m from He restoreth my soul
\nwith a cottonball lamb
\nand ten verses I can say myself.<\/p>\n
I’m from Artemus and Billie’s Branch,
\nfried corn and strong coffee.
\nFrom the finger my grandfather lost
\nto the auger,
\nthe eye my father shut to keep his sight.<\/p>\n
Under my bed was a dress box
\nspilling old pictures,
\na sift of lost faces
\nto drift beneath my dreams.
\nI am from those moments–
\nsnapped before I budded —
\nleaf-fall from the family tree.<\/p>\n
Learn more about Presence: Reflections\u00a0on the Middle East<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Literary Portraits The Young Artist Studio photo manipulation project began exploring the boundaries of portraiture in the exhibition and through poetry. Our literary portraiture inspiration was found in the poem by George Ella Lyon: Where I’m From I am from … Continue reading