I am from historic tours

From pink flamingos, lawn chairs, and making faces at tourists.

I am from the Japanese Cherry tree

(Pink blossoms, old women,

A new respect for heights)

I am from the old fort,

Appropriated from the ivy

Whose many lives lent history and quirks

A silent watcher on ten years

I am from learning how to fight, paperclips, and it looks like laundry detergent,

From Elizabeth, Jocelyn, and Brendan

I'm from the stress of Charter and med school

And having to make breakfast and set the alarm clock myself,

From take charge or survive

I am from church only if I have to

Laughing Seed

And pride marches

I am from Bent Creek and downtown

Pitas and vegetarian for four years

From Emmy and Leslie

(One taught me to laugh, the other to feel)

From broken ribs and flying gravel,

From a single parent who opened my mind

My bookshelves hold my memories

Books infused with the memory of the times when I read them,

Pictures hidden in the words

And more life than you'd think

I am from these moments- reminders of the two opposing sides

Forcing me to choose a path much too early

Blackmail at the age of six.