Poem: I am from

From the 10th-grade author (March, 2006):

This poem was part of an assignment for English class titled "The Identity Project" but which I nicknamed "The Project from Hell" because it was so hard. Not that it was an academic challenge, but it was about delving into ourselves and thinking about who we are as people.

The main objective of the project was to answer three of life’s most important questions: Who am I? Where am I going? and What’s my purpose? As a sixteen-year old, I barely know what I want to wear tomorrow, let alone know where I want to be in life ten years down the road. The “I am From” poem was a chance to put aside the future and recollect on the past. It was an opportunity to consider how my past has shaped my personality and how it will affect my future.

I am from

I am from flour, sugar and eggs
blended together to doughy perfection
baked with love
my grandmother’s chocolate chip cookies
(which I swear are medicinal
and can cure any ailment)
warm from the oven
Christmas cutout cookies
iced candy canes, stockings, and trees
arranged on festival plates
From ground beef, spices and tomato paste
cooked into a mild chili
spooned into bowls
and topped with shredded cheese
eaten around the table
crammed in with aunts and uncles
cheeks rosy and hearts light
after Christmas Eve mass

I am from sweet dirt
grass still wet with morning due
glass beads clinging to each blade
picking dandelions and johnny jump-ups
(because even weeds need to be loved)
skipping through the park
and climbing on rocks
pretending they are a manatee
a sea turtle
and a dolphin
From the sidewalk
a sidewalk Monet
scribbling with chalk
creating gravel rainbows
racing down the street on my bike
skidding around corners
jump rope and hopscotch with friends
my knees always bruised and scraped by gravel

I am from rose
the scent always present in my grandmother’s bathroom
and clinging to her all day long
fragrant lotions displayed alongside lipsticks and hair combs
my eyes wide with excitement
to play beauty parlor
From pine
fresh and crisp
yet woody and warm
instant nostalgia of Christmases past
bundled up to pick out this year’s tree
(I always had the final say)
the trophy of the holiday season
the showcase of ornaments
made in preschool and collected over the years
of twinkling lights
every year the same angel on top
the aroma blending with merry tidings
uncontainable excitement
and carols playing softly in the background

I am from hope
encouragement
and affection
“you have great potential”
“you could be anything you want to be”
“have I told you lately that I love you?”
From faith
“God works in mysterious ways”
But mostly
and above all other things
I am from love