I am from roasted green chile wind
Thick chicory smoke filled air,
watermelon and peach juice chins,
Christmas smothered plates soaked in sunshine
Dry mouth of dust and sincerity,
Elderberries swimming in honey and vanilla as the sunsets-
Watermelon, peach, and berry wavelength refractions dancing on mountain horizons,
Evergreen sap falling on shaded and scrapped hands,
Snap peas popping open, cases crunching over mourning dove hollers,
Dog barks breaking up vibrato laughter,
Marlboro red floating through whispered conversation corners,
Basketballs flying over crumbled cinderblock walls,
A football rolling on Bronco floorboards,
Sprinting across yellow fields, tripping to catch the football before my grinning brothers’ friends can.
I am from mountain snow and lake mud,
Slipping feet and strong ankles,
Craning neck at sky scrapper brothers,
Peaking through reeds at deer and birds,
Stealing cameras and converse out of punk rock sister’s room,
Tiny, talented nieces and nephews splashing pie filling on noodle stuck ceilings,
Standing on acrylic paint-stained kitchen benches,
Yelling lyrics and impersonations,
Choking on sun tea when chuckles bubble up in our chests,
Jameson and coke spilled on hardwood floors and tables when darts fly into an ancient board,
Precise circuit board building hands of my cowboy boot clad father stringing a 70lb compound bow,
Sneaking throwing stars and knives into my jewelry box as Film Buff mom sands antiques in front of period piece scenes.
I am from bumper plates dropped on scuffed floors,
Iron bathed hands and sweat drop muscles,
Supplements, clothes, and food passed from one friend to the next,
Sharing material goods, knowledge and feelings in this run down building,
Prying gum off wood court floors and carrying bleachers up and down stairs,
Power tools and chemical cleaners,
Snarky jokes hidden under rumbling of industrial washers and dryers,
Giggling pool offices with spilled chem checks and calcium crusted doors,
Beer cans and ice swimming in baby pools as belly flop contests shake midtown,
From rosemary and pine needle fire pits as horror movies scale a projector screen blowing in an eerie breeze,
Wings getting cold as Dos Equis gets warm,
A game of “Who Had the Worst Girlfriends” and tarot deck rejections of current crushes,
secrets shared with friends as parents peak through the kitchen window.
I am from bookshelf walls, torn ink bled paper and anatomical diagrams,
16-tab-open computer screens, tables built of textbooks, skeletons dangling from vaulted ceilings,
Dog-eared taxonomy pages, Museum pointing, star gazing,
Gentle bone turning hands, and vapo rub under masks in dissection labs.
I am from dim rosary beads, paintings with eyes that follow lining hallways,
honeysuckle summers turned to rainbow dowsed parades, essential oils and metal polish wafting through craft shows of crunchy leaf autumn, and Scotcheroo chewing Holidays,
Returned by Bumble Bee Jar-Bird Bath springs,
A tree of life branching out new experiences each year,
Leaves that whisper in the wind that it is okay to be just like this, encouragement to learn more and teach more, to barricade brains and hearts from harmful mistruths and self-doubts.
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