I Am... Scholarship Slam

I am from the silky green blanket

from clay,and one of the first gaming systems-Game Cube.

I am from the rocky mountains of West Virginia

(running barefoot on the dirt)

I am from the wild blackberry bush behind

the house and the heavy blackberries

attached to whose long pointy limbs

I remember as if they were my own.

I'm from cinnamon buns on Christmas morning

and blessed with youthful cheeks when I smile,

from adopted Chinese kids and drop outs from college

and from a strong habit of worrying.

I'm from "By my God" and "It's pouring the rain"

And my mother singing me to sleep with "Sunshine,

you are my sunshine"

I'm from addictions to food

I'm from Brazil and Texas 

Pepperoni rolls and homemade blackberry cobbler

From the women who complains about her nose being cold the whole season of winter

Overflowing with treasured baby teeth and academic awards

High in my mom's closet sits a box of family mementos

I glance over unfocused snapshots and cry

those were the days I'll never get back

those are the reasons I plan to cherish 

every moment.