A poetry-writing exercise

 

 

I am from...

 

I am from the bed that has been with us since we got married almost twenty years ago, from my desktop and laptop computers, and my collection of books.

I am from a ranch-style yellow house with a barrel tile roof and a warm feeling inside heightened with the aroma of whatever scented candles my wife has lit, and the appetite-inducing smell of camarones enchillado (shrimp in a sauce of Cuban spices).

 

I am from the palm tree on my front lawn; and the vain Royal Poinciana with redish-orange blossoms that sits proudly on my front door neighbor’s lawn and fills my living room window like a divinely-inspired impressionist painting whose long gone limbs I [will] remember as if they were my own.

 

I’m from Noche Buenas and keeping a sense of humor no matter what, from my parents, aunts, uncles and cousins by the dozen.

 

I’m from working hard and playing harder, and from making do with what I have, and making lemonade out of lemons.

 

I’m from “have faith” and “no vayas a meter la pata” [literal: don’t stick your foot in it; real translation: don’t mess up] and Excelsior: Ever upwards! the New York state motto.

 

I’m from assembling jigsaw puzzles on cold days and nights in a two-bedroom apartment in Astoria, Queens, New York.

 

I’m from Cuba, Spain, New York and cocina criolla: traditional Spanish dishes prepared with the spices from the New World, picadillo, hot dogs, and knishes.

  

From my father who honored a man (and risked getting arrested) by walking ten miles on the day his lieutenant was executed by firing squad under Castro’s orders. He walked from the barracks where the assassination took place to our soon-to-be taken over home. The very same barracks that had been home to the only career my father ever had.

 

I’m from old yellowed photos taken with Kodak Instamatics and Magic Cube flashes.

 

I’m from all these things and things to come.

 

That’s where I’m from.

 

Et tu?

"I'm from" a poem by Trudge164 ©Trudge164, 2010 

 

The back story and Open Call 

 

So the other day, I was going over Little Trudgette’s homework assignments when I got to this assignment: Dream in Color. It is a poetry writing exercise for her Seventh Grade Literature class.

 

The students’ poems will be displayed during Hispanic Heritage Week in October. The better ones will be read during the ceremony and dance. So far, she was asked to read her poem in class and her teacher chose it as part of  as special display leading up to Hispanic Heritage Week.

 

The exercise is part of the Dream in Color program sponsored by the Target Corporation in partnership with Scholastic and the National Hispanic Cultural Center. Its goal is “to inspire everyone to share their personal culture through the tradition of storytelling.” It was developed as a “storytelling activity by poet and educator Levi Romero, who found inspiration in a poem by George Ella Lyon titled “Where I’m From.” Click on I'm from for the PDF.

 

So I started thinking, why do the kids get to have all the fun? And that’s when it hit me … like a Mack truck that’s hauling 100 pallets of Ramen Noodle boxes plowing through a swarm of dragonflies during the height of their mating season on a hot and muggy night while heading southbound on the Florida Turnpike somewhere between Jupiter and Miami … why don’t I make this an Open Call? 

 

So here it is, the “Where I’m From” Poetry Open Call. If you want to play, all you have to do is fill in the blanks. Just copy and paste the text below into your word processor. The phrases in parentheses are clues as to what you need to fill in the blanks with. The words not in parentheses cannot be changed.  Be sure to put “Where I’m from” or “I’m from” in the title and in the tags. Also, add Open Call to the tags. Send me a PM when you post so I can create a new post with links to your poem. 
  

Fill in the blanks and share your story:

 

I am from...

 

I am from ________________________(an everyday item in your home)

from and __________________________(products or everyday items in your home)

I am from the _______________________ (description of your home)

(a detail about your home—a smell, taste, or feel)

I am from the ________________________(plant, flower, natural item)

The ________________________(plant or tree near your home)

whose long gone limbs I remember

as if they were my own.

I’m from and ________________________(a family tradition and family trait)

from and ________________________(family members)

I’m from and ________________________(family habits)

and from ________________________. (a family habit)

I’m from and ________________________(things you were told as a child)

and ________________________(a song or saying you learned as a child)

I’m from ________________________(a family tradition)

I’m from ________________________(place of birth) and (family ancestry, nationality or place)________________________

and ________________________(family foods)

From (a story about a family member)____________________________________________

_________________________________

___________________

(detail about the story or person)

(description of family mementos, pictures or treasures)

(location of mementos—under my bed, on the wall, in my heart)

(more description if needed)