Where I'm From

Where I’m From #33 By Jeannine Ouellette Inspired by George Ella Lyon Fine Woven I am from overflowing ashtrays, from store-brand cereal and late payments. I am from steep wooden stairs (rickety, paint flaking, slats of sunlight nourishing the chickweed). I am from the ancient volcanic rock, the clear, rolling creeks, both tumbling incessantly toward Lake Superior, whose cold waters and ocean-size...

Where I’m From #32  By Meera Vijayann Inspired by George Ella Lyon I am from the pages of old journals, From Bona and black ink,  I am from wooden floors filled with toys and baby clothes, (Lemony, fragrant, I can’t quite explain why this is). I am from jasmines, pine trees, sweet leaves that hold morning dew, I am from Diwali dinners and unbridled Joy, From Maloo and Mccombe,   I’m from the kind...

Where I'm From #31 By Christina Mauro Inspired by George Ella Lyon I am from the 70's, From hot Folgers coffee and Lipton’s sweet iced tea. I am from the house of Garcia with its family photos and the smell of leather saddles and fresh tortillas, Resilient, tender, the laughter of men sharing their stories while sitting at the kitchen table. I am from bluebonnets and mesquite trees as far as the e...

Where I'm From #30 By Lisa Rizzo Inspired by George Ella Lyon I am from the back seats of rusty old cars, from Crisco and Jell-O. I am from a lawn stretching to farm fields behind (bee-laden and humid, smelling of wind and black loam) I am from the promise of wild rose and lilac offering sweetness after snow-laden winter. I’m from watching family home movies. Our bodies flickered across the screen...

Where I’m From #29 By Rosanna Staffa Inspired by George Ella Lyon I am from a blue Atala bike From Borotalco Roberts and Coty powder #21 the whiff of candy they left in the bathroom I’m from watching a snowfall from window to window Old newspapers piled on a chair and a piano. I am from yellow tramways and small squares with dripping fountains Sidewalks smelling pungent, after a Spring rainfall, s...

Where I’m From #28 By  Jody Ohlsen Collins Inspired by George Ella Lyon I am from doughboy pools and homemade Barbie houses from Huffy bikes and Helms Bakery donuts. I am from three sisters to a room and broad green bermuda lawns. I am from bright sandy beaches and weeping willows whose drooping green sheltered me from California’s sun. I am from Coppertone and Sun-In from Helen and Wes and John....

Where I'm From #27 By Maureen C. Berry Inspired by George Ella Lyon I am from buttercream yellow kitchen walls, From a General Electric avocado green stove and The Good Housekeeping Cookbook. I am from the tiger lilies pushing up against the chain-linked fence. (Orange, erect, between patches of urine-soaked lawn from the dogs.) I am from the Rose of Sharon The neighbor’s elm Whose limbs stole acr...

Where I’m From #26 by Tonya Todd Inspired by George Ella Lyon I am from books and cats and baseball bats, from Mother’s Milk and Banner Batteries. I am from the swimming pool in the back yard. (Deep, shimmering eyes stinging like chlorinated dreams.) I am from Oleander bushes, their poison-laced leaves bright and fragrant as rose petals. I am from Christmas cookies and big teeth, from Butterflies...

Where I’m From #25 By Michelle Yang Inspired by George Ella Lyon   I am from sweet potato noodles from Shin Ramyun, jajangmyeon, and barley tea. From the apartment atop a Korean bathhouse (boisterous, chained, with bees buzzing between bristly bricks.)   I am from the forbidden mango my Po-po sneaks me, the pulpy fibers cling between my baby teeth. I’m from incensed family shrines and stocky, 6-fo...

Where I’m From #24 by Buick Audra Inspired by George Ella Lyon I’m from things I didn’t get to choose Like mango groves and Southern roots The latter of which, I found out by looking online I’m from water ballet in Pelican Lake My cousin Er was other long legs Our grandmother couldn’t quite see us, so we danced for her ears I’m from many church basements in the suburbs of Boston Small Styrofoam cu...

Where I'm From #23 By Gia Ruiz Inspired by George Ella Lyon I am from layaways From generic cola and heartburn causing picante chips I am from 9 homes in 17 years, on military bases, in the middle of pineapple fields, next to undetonated bombs. I am from plantains, brown and bruised, then fried, and smashed at just the right time. I’m from my mom’s lived ghost stories and curly hair and loudest la...

Where I’m From #22 By Fox Henry Frazier Inspired by George Ella Lyon I am from Susquehanna and Chenango riverbanks, from rock salt and backyard timber rattlesnakes. I am from a house with beautiful hearthstones— smooth, grey, smelling faintly of rain— and another house, scented with lavender and hibiscus and gunpowder. I am from ivy and holly and This berry probably won’t kill me if I only take th...

Where I Am From #21 By Maxine Lipner Inspired by George Ella Lyon I am from sharing black and white cookies with my older sister at the neighborhood bakery, where the woman behind the counter knew my mother from way back when From beads of lemon pledge on wood grain, hard-earned from a printer turned copy editor’s wages and from the used, slightly dented, silver blue Chrysler that took us on motel...

Where I’m From #20 By Aly Leavitt Inspired by George Ella Lyon I am from diet coke bottles hidden in the closet From powdered hostess donuts and the big shop truck that drove us to get both from 7-11 after Saturday morning chores. I am from the tallest house on the block with the colorful walls and the furniture that never stayed in the same spot for too long, because you can rearrange your furnit...

 Where I’m From #19 By Erik Sandstrom Inspired by George Ella Lyon I am from the toy bins at the Ben Franklin Five and Dime From a Mattel Fanner 50 and a tube of Testor’s glue I am from a tiny bedroom, walls papered with photos from the pages of Car Craft and Hot Rod magazine Safe, embracing - leaves from the backyard oak brush against my window screen I am from the onions rotting in Sakata’s fiel...

Where I’m From #18 By Emily Withnall Originally published in High Desert Journal   Inspired by George Ella Lyon Claret cup cacti announce themselves in everything I write. This surprised me at first, but it shouldn’t have. I’ve been pierced more than once by their spines. When in bloom, tiny vermillion bouquets dot the dry ground. They are everything I aspire to be. Papa bartended at Sipapu ski lo...

Where I’m From #17 By Peg Conway Inspired by George Ella Lyon I am from cartoons on Saturday morning, from Oreos dipped in milk and Campbell’s chicken noodle soup heated in the copper-bottomed pot then slurped from the spoon.   I am from the house with brown pillars that reach for the sky. From the weeping willow tree whose branches, like feathers, dangle to the ground, from the ever-present absen...

Where I’m From #16 By Vanessa King Inspired George Ella Lyon I am from chlorine. From Speedo and Tyr. I am from the stuccoed ranch on Estero and the poorly-placed box past the gate, too-green grass, parchment skies, the blast of an oven every time you open the front door. But, hey, it’s a dry heat. I’m from manicured palms and white-trunked orange, humming with bees my brother was desperate to avo...

Where I’m From #15 By Lucie Frost Inspired by George Ella Lyon I am from TV dinners, on my dad’s side. From Swanson’s Chicken Pot Pie and Morton’s Turkey Dinner. On my mother’s, from “health food.” Homemade yogurt, always plain, and pressure-cooked artichokes. I am from San Antonio summers. A one-story ranch wrapped around the swimming pool, decorator-styled, full of liquor, electronics, and stepm...

Where I’m From #14 By Alyson Shelton  Inspired by George Ella Lyon I am from bathing suits, From Ragu and Chanel No. 5. I am from sandy feet. (Gritty, crunchy on the floor and in my mouth, Proof of daily joys.) I am from kelp, wrapped around my ankles, scaring friends, but never me. I’m from a lead foot on the accelerator and making family jokes out of fresh wounds,  the ones that still ache with...

Where I’m From #13 By Ann Kathryn Kelly Inspired by George Ella Lyon I am from an Irish Clan’s love, strong as bedrock, deep as ocean, the baby in the family almost taken, decades after baby fat grew lean. (A bleeding brain tumor, caught before bedrock could crumble.) I am from a surgeon’s scalpel, my Superman in a cape of blue scrubs, who outran, outflew, outwitted red kryptonite inside me. I am...

 Where I’m From #12 By Stacy Mendell Inspired by George Ella Lyon I am from the purple banana seat bike, from slip-on Keds and double knit dresses, from Piggly Wiggly and S&H Green Stamps. I am from the 3rd house down on Redbud Drive, the one with two pine trees shading the drive way, (Collected as saplings, tended in coffee cans, eternally scented with Folgers). I am from the plump stand...

 Where I’m From #11 By Meg Nocero Inspired by George Ella Lyon The Italian-American Dreamer – to be seen and appreciated for our culture’s contributions The story of my family explored and written about after spending hours in a closet with precious memories and photos Cherishing the stories of those pioneers who came before me, celebrating our roots and adding on to legacy. I Am From Poem I am fr...

Where I’m From #10 By Elizabeth Heise Inspired by George Ella Lyon I am from tumbleweeds From brewer’s yeast and goldenseal I am from a little white house on Quiet Lane, peeling stucco, a deep blue sky, the heavy scent of sage I am from red chile growing wild behind Ramona’s house don't rub your eyes or you’ll be sorry I’m from living with want and joking about the worst of it I’m from Mic...

Where I’m From #9 By Giselle Interiano Inspired by Geroge Ella Lyon I am from recycled food containers with leftovers instead of yogurt.  From watered down dish soap and Vicks.  I am from mold seeping through the bedroom walls, moist, cold, I CAN’T STOP SNEEZING.  I am from avocado trees with brittle branches and ripe avocados I pick for lunch.  I am from winter’s at 20218 Steinway’s cul de sac, f...