Where are you from?

You may know where you are, but do you know where you are from?

Our good friend Connie inspired my wife to answer that question in the mold of a poem following the pattern of the more famous poem also called "Where I'm From" which I believe was written by George Ella Lyon.

Ordinarily my lovely wife is more likely to spend her creative energy on the visual arts, but she has a gift for the written word as well and so I was thrilled that she decided to write her own "Where I'm From." It is a beautiful insight into my Wife and her beginnings and she was gracious enough to allow me to share it here. Though you likely won't enjoy it quite as much as I did (since I doubt that is possible), I hope it inspires some of you to give some thought to your own history. Anyway, enjoy

Where I’m From

I am from 172nd court
From sawdust and custom designed Barbie clothes
I am from a triangle tree house with a green corrugated roof
Sheltering my sleeping bag and books during a flood
until Daddy put on waders
Rescuing my precious things

I am from Little House on the Prairie
Laura and Ma and Manly
Long braids and nightgowns at 8:00
Dancing to the opening credits
I am from Mrs. Smith’s awesome 5th grade
A brick in Pioneer Square to remember us, always together

I am from Paradise Island
Wonder Woman on a bike
Racing with Rene’
Singing and saving the day
Swim meets and goggles and swim caps to cover our hip length hair
Proud to be matching cone head mermaids

I am from the stage
Somewhere over the rainbow
Best friends in costumes
I am from the scent of Great songs of the church
My great grandmother’s scratchy crocheted cape,
Baptistery chlorine and 728B in my biggest voice

I am from Lake Billie Chinook
Sunburns, water skis and our own private trailer
Camping and fishing
Losing a sombrero on the lake
A one man, two girl tent
A burnt orange backpack that was too heavy

I am again from the end of the street
Still love sawdust and custom designed clothes
The tree house is a rectangle now
728B is a classic sung into a microphone
Singing and saving the day
Wonder Woman on a Bike

Comments

leslie said…
that is really great..

at first, i didn't read the intro paragraph and started reading the poem and i had to stop at 'barbie' and was like: this isn't josh, is it?

i find tanya to be very eloquent, and am not surprised to see her creativity captured in a poem; not surprised, but as usual, charmed.

i like the "matching cone head mermaids" among the many pictures this poem conjures in my mind.

thanks for sharing this.
2:58 PM
Jennifer B. Davis said…
Beautiful poem. Thanks for writing and sharing this.

Hey, Tanya, you should put this into a book with photos for your parents' coffee table. It would be so cool. Oh, drat! I ruined the surprise. :)
4:38 PM
DKU said…
I loved the "one man two girl tent". It makes me smile to think of the era.. Little House on the Prarie and Wonder Woman. We are all so unique and it is fun to think about the experiences we have had that make us so different. We are products of our environments as well as our genes!!!
4:46 PM
Peggy said…
Josh: do not read this-it does not concern you. It is written in encrypted code that only Mactastic will understand.

Mactastic, phase one of blog takeover is now complete. He is posting what you wrote. Begin phase two without delay. Very soon you will control the remote.
9:38 PM
cwinwc said…
I like the idea and of course, the poem. Our identity is certainly in our childhoods, experiences, and the like.

BTW - The only part I understood (and hopefully you as well) of Peggy's encrypted message was the part about the remote! If you're a fan of "24" Josh - you need to call "Cloe" now! You must have control of the remote.
9:41 AM
Thurman8er said…
I love that poem. I may write one of my own. If I do, I'm pretty sure I'll be the Six Million Dollar Man in there somewhere.

Will your lovely wife be coming to Fresno next month too?
9:48 AM
Josh Stump said…
Cecil, you are so right. I need Cloe and that fantastic PDA that Jack carries. It is the best way to fight back a coup.

I'm glad everyone enjoyed the poem. I knew you would. Sadly for you future content will still mostly come from me rather than my wife, regardless of Peggy's attempts to the contrary.
4:32 PM
Anonymous said…
Jack Bauer and even Cloe are NO match for Persistent Peggy and Mactastic Tanya should we decide to take over the WORLD!! Or even the Remote control.

Indeed, thanks guys for your encouraging comments on my fledgeling blog exposure. It was a really fun process writing the poem. I hope to write a new one every January, reflecting on the past 365 days. Maybe Josh will make room for an annual guest Mactastic post.
5:28 PM
meljwin said…
I love it! I wrote a "Where I'm From" for my grad class and it was one of the most satisfying things I've ever done. Tanya's made me smile.
10:43 AM
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