Author’s Note: This is my response to a common poetry prompt. When I was writing it, I was thinking about the things that made up the foundation of my childhood and what I still carry into adulthood. I wrote it just as an exercise but I was so proud of it that I wanted to share it. I hope you enjoy.
I am from fairy gardens constructed
with twigs and daffodil petals
sprinkled with the little round rocks
that were under the tire swing
where the other children would not let me play
because at three years old I wore glasses
I am from words on yellowed paper
read aloud by the glow
of the unicorn night light
magic worlds and lantern waste
that I carried close to my heart
even as all plunged into winter
I am from composition notebooks
that left graphite smudges on my eager hands
as I drew space cadets and superheroes
that traversed the galaxies inside my mind
and the pages I filled as I chicken-pecked
every key my fingers could reach
I am from the hymns sung every morning
verses forever engraved as melodies
that spring to my lips the moment
I hear the first note in the pastor’s sermon
and I can still play that holy book’s sonnets
reflect them back as the sun goes out
Published by