Where I'm From

I am from herb gardens, patchwork quilts, and peppermint tea.

I am from cobblestone streets

(limestone layers, and pebble paths.)

I am from morel mushroom forests,

Purple violets, and dew-soaked crab apple leaves pointing me toward fairy dwellings.

I am from black eyed peas and butterscotch cookies

From Mae Helen and Kate.

I’m from activists and educators,

From traveling troubadours and Saturday night waltzes.

I’m from biscuits and iron skillet cornbread.

From the wooden flutes my father plays to the oak trees my mother plants.

I’m from the hand-written poem that hangs from my grandfather’s adobe wall.

I searched photo albums of bald temper tantrums and ocean trance dances.

Rhythmic Brazilian beats underneath Iowa soil, surfacing in

Mississippi bayous and full moon

look outs over Mount Geronimo in New Mexico.

Anne Haggerson

February 18^th, 2009