Where I Am From (also from 2007)

Where I Am From

I am from handwashed dishes and diapers, from Campbell's soup and Tide Detergent.
I am from the dirt with red specks, from the wild onions and blackberries and lightning bugs in mason jars.
I am from red carpet and rainbow stars.
I am from the mimosa flowers that float on the lake waters, the weeping willow trees that sway in the wind.
I am from the smell of honeysuckle vines in the spring.
I am from fishing poles and water skis, from vegetable gardens and wrinkled foreheads.
I am from the cabin in the woods and from the rocky waters of Smith Lake.
I am from farms that I never even saw.
I am from Virginia, Luria, and Ruby - the creative, the strong, the faithful.
I am from the independant, the stubborn, the hardworking and proud.
I am from the wheelers and dealers and the worry warts, too.
I am from strong willed women and diligent, patient men.
I am from blood parents and from parents who took me as their own.
I am from chocolate and biscuits, from barbecued pork marinated in the earth.
I am from dill pickles and watermelon seeds, from tickled feet and sunbathing.
I am from go-carts and beauty pageants and lazy summer days.
I am from sand dollars and salty ocean air.
I am from fairy tales, nursery rhymes, and Sesame Street.
I am from the sack man and Ol' Wooly, too.
I am from the Leroy Baptist Church pews, the Baptist hymnal, and the gravestones at the old cemetary.
I am from a clear plastic tub of photos in my grandmother's closet, from the albums in mom's old china cabinet that is now mine.
I am from the reel to reel silent films of my family, I am from the souls of the faces who are in them all.

Writing activity found at:http://www.swva.net/fred1st/wif.htm