I come From

I come from the valley of the golden state, 

where everything great is 2 hours away.

I come from late night card games and talk about the future,

where the ideas of new and old fashion into something great.

I come from a constantly moving backgrounding: changing schools, housing, parents, never stopping always rushing forward.

I come from haunted houses and odd friends,

Where your character is the first to be judge not your appearance.

I come from classic books, telling stories of right, wrong, anger, fear, love, hate, and forgiveness.

I come from a long line of soldiers missing births of children nieces and nephews, missing holidays, first steps and words, milestone in love one’s lives.

I come from the screams and echoes of a shattered home the crying in the corner type of childhood cause love turned to hate and hate turned into a hospital room.

I come from my father bleeding through four shirts on our way back from San Francisco,

Playing games in the emergency room with my grandmother trying to distract,

I come from fear

Fear of who I am because my high school would not except the person I may choose to love.

Fear of a mother, who is supposed to be my mom but instead is the person I dread most.

Fear of trust, because if your own mother is this way, then what do you expect of everyone else.

I come from hope

Hope form the pride parades I see and hear about, from the couples holding hands.

Hope from the love in my father’s eyes.

Hope from the love of a person that chooses to take on the role of mom.

Hope from the proof that people care, even if I had to learn in through tragedy.

Hope that the nightmares of the past will fade into something less.

Hope I can survive the poison affecting my life.

Hope the cure is in moving forward,

in learning and growing and seeing new.

I come from the good and the bad of my past

The hope and The fear.