Ballads of Autumn and Roses: A Poetry Book

Where I'm From

I'm from stories about ghosts

Beseeching the living

To "finish the bridge"

I'm from watermelon summers,

And mac-and-cheese winters

Cinnamon autumns

And violet springs.

I used to splash around in the pool

My dad would lead the way

And dust would fly out from behind our bikes

One time

The rush was too much

Too fast for a little girl like me

I raced to catch up

But instead I fell down

On the ground

My face was a mess.

In first grade, we piled in the car

Stopped at PetCo and McDonalds

We picked her up at a foster house,

Her fur was so dark back then-

We fed her fries in the back of the car.

Way-back-when,

The world didn't weigh so much

Now the world is still heavy,

But I can carry it because

I am stronger than I used to be.

I am from afternoons

Spent packing a duffel bag

At eight years old

I'd run out into the field

And sit there,

Determined to never go back home-

I would come back when pigs flew.

I would run as swift as a cheetah back to my room.

At seven years old

All I knew was my own little corner of the world

I didn't know Taylor Swift,

I didn't care about who she was.

I just listened to "Shake it off" day and night,

The version from "Sing"

I never had a photographic memory,

But that song was the one exception.

I'm from days spent hiding behind

The brown chair,

The comfort of the thing drew me to it

It was also steadfast as a bull

And dark as a bear.

I used to leave things everywhere

And we'd have to mail them back.

A teddy as big as me got lost

The day it came home,

I was so relieved.

I'm from the day

I was five or six

Images played on the TV screen

An angry woman,

Snow White,

Jiminy Cricket

All flashed before my eyes

But the scene replayed in my mind for six years

Like a broken record.

One day, I saw it again.

This time, I knew the story.

I am from mornings spent at church

I felt as high as the empire state building

Up in the loft

Mom's choir was a chorus of angels.

I remember seeing the magic happen

At the altar,

The bread and wine

Turning into the real flesh and blood of Jesus Christ.

The mystery of the consecration

Always astounded and baffled me.

I am from

The hours

Spent acting teacher

With my favorite cousin

I'm from all the times

My mother has hugged me and I never wanted her to let go.