Gallery of Poems

Where I'm From

I am from trees;

From the no-longer existent paper birch that was once near the driveway

To the vibrant sugar maple in the woods out back.

I am from sea foam and surf;

From salt and chlorine,

Always moving, gently rocking.

I am from the dirt and holes in my younger pants,

Made fresh every day in a crazy new adventure.

I am from leaves,

In all of their red and gold glory,

Falling to the dance of autumn.

I am from snowflakes

Intricate patterns delicately falling from a lined silver sky.

I am from hospital beds;

From ambulances and medications

And that one little white pill,

The one that tasted like iron death.

I am from titanium;

From rods and screws.

I am from pain and exhaustion,

From scars that will linger and memories that will never go away.

I am from blood and bones;

From toil and tears;

From laughed with and laughed at;

From friends and feelings.

I am from the memories that make me,

The ones that make me happy, mad, sad, and all the colors of in between.

When I look back, back, and further,

I see not only me and myself,

But the memories and photos

Which I sift through like sand.