Where I'm From

 by a 7th grade grandaughter

 

I am from the garden,

from the hammock and the stones leading up to our front steps

I am from the lilacs that hang over our fence

(they were planted in memory of my grandmother)

I am from the oldest oak in our yard

from the china set in our cupboard

(orderly, fragile, each piece is individually patterned)

 

I am from rocket lollipops and penny jars

from Jane Austen novels and late night basketball games

I am from the proper,

the polite

from watch your posture to watch your language

and a cookie for each hand

I am from the words 'I only want what's best for you'

 

I am from Earl Grey tea and Little Women

biscotti and salted popcorn

from the finger my grandfather shattered

in training (it's why he didn't go to battle)

I am from the ties my father wears each Thursday to teach

 

Every summer we go to Eagles Mere

and swim in the same lake where the sand was

placed where there was once dirt and is replaced

summer after summer, generation after generation

with new glistening grains.