In class, we wrote a "Where I'm From" poem. We first did empathy interviews, which are interviews within the class about each other. Most of the questions regard your past of where you lived, your culture, and the people in your life. We use these interviews as a starting point to write a poem about where you are from. We wrote 2-3 drafts and group critiqued each other's poem. There was also an art piece to go along with the poem. You either do a visual or a time lapse video of your neighborhood. On the day of the Poetry Cafe, people were able to go on the stage and read their poem to the class, while we ate cookies and drank hot chocolate.
I chose to do a visual, since I prefer to do an art piece. This is a visual I made, it includes three lines from three different stanzas and images of some things from the poem.
I chose to do a visual, since I prefer to do an art piece. This is a visual I made, it includes three lines from three different stanzas and images of some things from the poem.
Below is my poem:
I am from Nana’s home, mind mark of warmth
Every crisp dawn, morning birds sing
Along the freeway one street over
Big trucks and cars vibrate the road
I’m from where walls are splashed with colorful people at the park
The area of the green, eagle on white, and red culture
Where the paint chipped playground is stuffed with kids
An ambulance, fire truck, or police car passes by every once in a while
I’m from a family with many stories of their times of youth
Antiques and photographs collected along the decades
Sense the aura and the dusty days walk in dim halls
Smell Palmolive dish soap, smell storms and clear days
I’m from where cockroaches, mice, and moths greet you on the tainted tile
Watch gray turn into blue on the light grime covered windows
Old fashioned hallway runner collecting filth and stains
Remember the reports on the little box tv on the kitchen table
I’m from the house with a fake owl on the roof
Cats in the alley, undesirable plants escape the man-made road
Spot the Dalmatian, chihuahuas barking, and a white rabbit with red eyes
Guayaba, Pomegranate, and Mango tree leaves on the ground like a blanket
I’m from a life of growing up with a double
Like two peas in a pod, we always stay together
We understand our own language and code
Wearing matching clothes at home and school
Big holiday and birthday parties every year
Praying as a family huddling around the table full of food
Greeting everyone would take a while, with family and friends inside and outside
Playing 80s funk and classic music late into the night
Last rays of the sun beam through the window
Faint living room with dust particles in the rays
The luminous vintage chandelier reaches halfway the living room
On the old couch, I daze into dreamland
I am from Nana’s home, mind mark of warmth
Every crisp dawn, morning birds sing
Along the freeway one street over
Big trucks and cars vibrate the road
I’m from where walls are splashed with colorful people at the park
The area of the green, eagle on white, and red culture
Where the paint chipped playground is stuffed with kids
An ambulance, fire truck, or police car passes by every once in a while
I’m from a family with many stories of their times of youth
Antiques and photographs collected along the decades
Sense the aura and the dusty days walk in dim halls
Smell Palmolive dish soap, smell storms and clear days
I’m from where cockroaches, mice, and moths greet you on the tainted tile
Watch gray turn into blue on the light grime covered windows
Old fashioned hallway runner collecting filth and stains
Remember the reports on the little box tv on the kitchen table
I’m from the house with a fake owl on the roof
Cats in the alley, undesirable plants escape the man-made road
Spot the Dalmatian, chihuahuas barking, and a white rabbit with red eyes
Guayaba, Pomegranate, and Mango tree leaves on the ground like a blanket
I’m from a life of growing up with a double
Like two peas in a pod, we always stay together
We understand our own language and code
Wearing matching clothes at home and school
Big holiday and birthday parties every year
Praying as a family huddling around the table full of food
Greeting everyone would take a while, with family and friends inside and outside
Playing 80s funk and classic music late into the night
Last rays of the sun beam through the window
Faint living room with dust particles in the rays
The luminous vintage chandelier reaches halfway the living room
On the old couch, I daze into dreamland