Where I Am from….

I am from sewing:
Da’s treadle  Singer whirring
Fast as it can go;
Making dresses and doll clothes
With Chicken-bone fingers
That read the paper from front to back
And told the news her way at suppertime,
And now it is another generation
Of little girl’s dresses and smocking
Fancy costumes for dancing
On-stage and at fancy balls
And at church for fancy covers and alter frontals.

I am from cooking:
Biscuits and Sunday morning pancakes
French food and Southern favorites
Tipsy cake and boiled custard,
Pies and Pony Club Brunch.

I am creating:
From art and dancing and music
Singing at church and alone in the dark
Dancing when young and watching the magic on stage
Captured in paintings of watercolor hues and pastels
And acted out by “Sarah Heartburn” in life everyday.

I am from farms and cities:
Old houses, new houses but always land.
Horses nickering in the morning mist;
Dogs speaking at the scent of the chase;
Cats purring with quiet satisfaction
Tasty morsels left as presents to prove their worth.
Flowers and veggies about to burst,
And Fall in the air with tobacco’s mist.

I am from school:
Teaching young minds to expand with delight
Watching their faces glow with new light
And hoping that they their potential will see
To love the new learning long after me.

I am from books:
A library at home.
Old and musty – in need of repair
New and shiny – waiting to be read
Illustrated with photos , soft drawings or ink.
Writing from past to future
To make history live again.
 

Judith
Hopkinsville High School

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