Where I'm From

Where I'm from --
the Adirondacks
wet dirt
carrying water to our site
figuring out how to keep the canopy standing in the rain

Where I'm from --
a sewing machine
in the basement
piles of scraps, patterns, thread
the engineering of how things are put together
a needle through my finger cannot stop me

Where I'm from --
the church
parents disagreeing with the pastor
and each other
in the car on the way home
my bicycle flying downhill at youth group retreats

Where I'm from --
the ski slope
the Appalachian trail
the girl scouts
canoeing down falls
to avoid a portage
then carrying back up to do it again, for fun

Where I'm from --
cousins and aunts and uncles
holidays
Grandma Ruth who straightened doilies
and the other Grandma Ruth
who didn't wash the outside of pans

Where I'm from --
chemistry class
where I admitted
I make things up
and Mrs. Lewis said
"your instincts are good"
all the cool kids called to get help with homework.

Where I'm from --
a home
a safe home
a laughing home
a place where lemonade and popcorn for dinner
​was funny, not sad.

Thanks to George Ella Lyon who wrote the real poem "Where I'm From" and to Rev. Dr. Meg Hess who encouraged us to write our own at a recent clergy gathering.