Where I'm From -- After George Elia Lyon

I am from homemade Baileys Irish Cream
fromt he bleach my mother and her sister put in their hair
and the tanning oil that greased their skin
as their bodies cooked in our driveway
I am from the pear tree in my Memeres back yard
(pale green, usually hard
but sometimes juicy)
I am from the rose bush
the one that grows back every year
even in the snow
to let me know that she is still here

I'm from my Papa's Marine war metals,
from tree climbing and ice cream sandwiches
I'm from "you'll learn!" when I stub my toes
from "getting flip" with my mother
and Bridgie Bum from my Dad
From looking sharp! and Damned If I know
I'm from Over The Rainbow
Where skies are blue
In a brogue I only hear in a song or when I'm in trouble

I'm from the roaring campfire,
where I learned more about my Papa than any place else
As I munched on Smores
from coffee black
It's scent filling the air and awaking my nose each morning
from the boat that brought my Nanny here
to the bed where her mother went away

My grandparents had a large cupboard
Inside were boxes filled with memories
and an antique camera that captured them
I sat on the floor, treasuring each one
As the smell of moth balls gave me the strength

Reading As A Writer -- Poetry

I really enjoyed reading Anne section's poem The Statty Night. It was written very beautifully. I admired the little details that I didn't really catch onto the first time reading it. For example, the way she said "this is how I want to die" ending in a period the first time. Here she described the tree laying int the water and looking up to the stars as if it were drowning. It's a beautiful image but I know hat she does not literally Mean that she wants to drown. In the last part she says again "this is how I want to die:" and uses a colon instead of a period. Following she says:

"Into that rushing beast of the night,

sucked up by that great dragon,

to split from my life with no flag,

no belly no cry"