Poetry | Where I'm From

I am from #2 pencils and yellow legal pads,

from pine sol and fabuloso.

I am from the cookie cutter home.

(Tan, white, and out of place)

I am from the pasilla peppers

the green grass

freshly cut, getting brown.

I’m from the movie marathons and loud voices,

from Elizabeth and Betty June,

and Martha.

I’m from the chatty kathys

and fast talkers.

____________________________

From be smaller and be strong.

I’m from a galaxy in a snowglobe sitting on another kids bookshelf,

and midnight mass.

I’m from Mercy, the Ozarks and the Rio Grande,

red eye gravy and menudo.

From the long scar on my dads arm running home before the lights went out,

the long scar on my sister's chest that saved her life.

Tucked away safely in scrapbooks,

pages stuck together,

these haven’t been opened in a while.

I am from trauma and healing,

white and brown,

family estranged and family unknown.

I am from my ancestors.