I am from...

by emilyalexander16

November 8, 2015

I am from...

I am from birch and tomatoes and forsythia,

Cash and Waylon and Elton,

from Emily Frances!,

Late nights

and late weekend starts

I am from over and over again "you look like your mother",

from Ladybug,

dancing in the living room,

from the house filling with that perfume,

letting me know she's home,

from black A-line skirts

and half-up hair

I am from pin-striped long sleeved button-downs,

and special cologne,

from "sorry, Em",

from contact solution and Tums,

shaving cream and the hunting channel,

from "wake up Daddy, it's time for bed"

I am from watermelon seeds on the porch,

from buzzzzzzz and sting,

baking soda and vinegar in paper cups,

from crawling on our knees through the hay field,

small red berries that made us pucker

I am from lawn mowers and weed-eaters,

from fresh cut grass and Chuck-it,

skies so blue it hurts,

from lightning and thunder,

with black fading to purple and orange and pink,

from Hometown pizza on the patio

I am from cool swirling around my ankles,

crawdads and crown-tailed fish,

from "try it before I help you",

from exhaust and tall wakes and

"thumbs up for faster, thumbs down for slower"

I am from I love you, Honey,

froom See ya later, Alligator,

See ya in a while, Crocodile,

From Know what I mean, Jellybean,

Sure do, Tennis shoe,

from Emilem and Uncle Eggo

I am from the the awesome feeling of not caring what they think,

bruised heels from too much fun,

from Maggie's Fury,

blackberries that stain like ink,

from waking up to smokey air and pancakes,

with bacon and hot chocolate

I am from crackling and burning,

from roasting marshmallows to perfection

and burning the hot-dogs,

from Grandpa yodeling in the beat-up Ford,

and crazy experiments in Grandma's kitchen,

from the lazy look of a horse's eye telling me to get off

I am from too many places to remember.

Something wrong with this poem?

Submitted to a slam

“I Am... Scholarship Slam - CLOSED”

View slam

Replies are closed for this poem.

Your Poem's Voice

See what makes your poem unique — its voice, energy, themes, and the literary traditions it draws from.

Comments (2)

emilyalexander16Nov 9, 2015

<p>This is absolutely not supposed to be the format that I wanted, but this site is not allowing me to do anything about it. </p>

emilyalexander16Nov 9, 2015

<h3 itemprop="name"> </h3><div><u><strong>I am from...</strong></u></div><div> </div><div>I am from birch and tomatoes and forsythia,</div><div>Cash and Waylon and Elton,</div><div>from Emily Frances!,</div><div>Late nights</div><div>and late weekend starts</div><div> </div><div>I am from over and over again "you look like your mother",</div><div>from Ladybug,</div><div>dancing in the living room,</div><div>from the house filling with that perfume,</div><div>letting me know she's home,</div><div>from black A-line skirts</div><div>and half-up hair</div><div> </div><div>I am from pin-striped long sleeved button-downs,</div><div>and special cologne,</div><div>from "sorry, Em",</div><div>from contact solution and Tums,</div><div>shaving cream and the hunting channel, </div><div>from "wake up Daddy, it's time for bed"</div><div> </div><div>I am from watermelon seeds on the porch, </div><div>from buzzzzzzz and sting,</div><div>baking soda and vinegar in paper cups,</div><div>from crawling on our knees through the hay field,</div><div>small red berries that made us pucker</div><div> </div><div>I am from lawn mowers and weed-eaters,</div><div>from fresh cut grass and Chuck-it,</div><div>skies so blue it hurts,</div><div>from lightning and thunder,</div><div>with black fading to purple and orange and pink,</div><div>from Hometown pizza on the patio</div><div> </div><div>I am from cool swirling around my ankles, </div><div>crawdads and crown-tailed fish,</div><div>from "try it before I help you",</div><div>from exhaust and tall wakes and</div><div>"thumbs up for faster, thumbs down for slower"</div><div> </div><div>I am from I love you, Honey,</div><div>froom See ya later, Alligator,</div><div>See ya in a while, Crocodile,</div><div>From Know what I mean, Jellybean, </div><div>Sure do, Tennis shoe,</div><div>from Emilem and Uncle Eggo</div><div> </div><div>I am from the the awesome feeling of not caring what they think,</div><div>bruised heels from too much fun,</div><div>from Maggie's Fury,</div><div>blackberries that stain like ink,</div><div>from waking up to smokey air and pancakes,</div><div>with bacon and hot chocolate</div><div> </div><div>I am from crackling and burning,</div><div>from roasting marshmallows to perfection</div><div>and burning the hot-dogs,</div><div>from Grandpa yodeling in the beat-up Ford,</div><div>and crazy experiments in Grandma's kitchen,</div><div>from the lazy look of a horse's eye telling me to get off</div><div> </div><div>I am from too many places to remember.</div>