I Am From Hammer and Nails

I am from hammer and nails, from Avon and fishing poles.

I am from the cool feel of the big stone porch on a hot summer day

Where the sound of laughter and the clink of dishes

Makes you know that you are safe.

I am from brick.

I am from the pines tree's and the aspen whispering

in the soft mountain wind,

from the purple lilac's and buzzing bee's.

I am from the wild onions that leave their taste

in the fresh cow's milk.

I am from 4th of July sparklers,

strong women,

lumber yards

and crackling fires.

I am from the love of Rolin and Leoma,

the strength of Toot and Shirley,

and the storms of Tommy and Janice.

I am from shallow pockets and deep love.

From "This too shall pass"

and

"Rise and shine in the early morning".

I am from Vacation Bible School with the smell of glue

and Mom next door teaching a class.

From cherry tree's and hot August days at the county fair.

I am from Cricket Flat and Denmark,

Alaska and England.

From pumpkin pie and biscuits.

From the young man who drowned in the Grande Ronde River,

the Grandmother who tossed the Christmas tree out the window

and from the woman who longed to be a writer.

I am from a dusty cardboard box in the attic,

letters under the bed,

and from diaries lost long ago.

I am from the carpenter and the country girl.

~Paula Sannar Niziolek

May 2008

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(This is a re-post from a poem that I wrote back in 2008.  It's been on my mind a lot lately for some reason and I wanted to share it again.  This poem was written using a format that gave a loose guideline of which part of your memories to search for each section of the poem.  You can write your own "Where I'm From" poem by following the link here.  I would love to read a poem about the people and places that made you who you are today.)