Where I'm From (crica 2017/18, templated from the poem by George Ella Lyon)

I am from comic books

from Miracle Bubbles and Nintendo.

I am from the smoke of cigarettes 

(putrid, persistent 

It smelled like the burning of items long abandoned.)

I am from the pecan trees,

the Cleveland Pears

of which I picked from in the summers of my youth.

I’m from the white elephant games and rockers 

from Calvin and Scotty.

I’m from the late arrivals and lake cook-outs

From “Hold your horses!” and “Yes, ma’ams”.

I’m from the power of questioning,

whilst aiding the cherished beliefs of others.

I’m from Angela and William’s Boiling Springs,

fried chicken and hushpuppies.

From the gravel sunken beneath my father’s skin in a motorcycle accident 

the thoughts of my mother left scattered in confinement.

In my closet, the top shelves,

filled with trinkets and baby shoes,

and memorabilia I could never place the origins of.

I am from the half broken mirrors of the past.

The small cracks of love and betrayal 

are carved in my being.