Jazz and Poetry a little spot for notes & words to dance

Where I’m From

One of the writing prompts Cheryl Bromley Jones introduced to the Poetry Alive! teacher institute is a little exercise called "Where I'm From." I've written many of these and they keep changing as time moves on and I find myself "from" more places than before. This is what came out of the in-service we taught at C.W. Post Long Island University last week still in rough form:

I am from exploding mountains
& calm inter-coastal salt sea
From hidden driveways
& cedar trees

A garden box of love
Though the main geranium died
two others took root
& are better than one to have by my side

Autoslaloming home built race cars
Smokey bowling alleys & sunny amusement parks
Girl Scout camp, horse racing
dance, sing, dance, play

Rocky Mountain escapes
& choreographing lawn gymnastics
Collecting river rocks
to rattle in pockets like grandma's Yahtzee dice

I've heard "if you love some one set them free"
& we've never meant to be for each other
the miles stretch further
from one generation to another

I am from raging garage band grunge
& flapper jazz
Give me that back beat boogie
cause it's all rock & roll to me

I am from cool mountain air
& honeysuckle tickles my nose
while puppies & kitties tickle my toes
Ride my bike cause I don't own a car

I hear good old mountain music
teaching my ear to understand rather than fear
Though bluegrass wasn't ever my style
I've learned to appreciate it after a while

I've collected scars & bruises
& dirt under my nails
City girl in the country
Country girl in the city

I've been stargazing
ever since I was born
& seek out light
to help it shine bright.