I am From

Lost beads of glass

Strung together
To form a semblance of a whole

Shiny blues
   Silvered grays
      The opalescence of greens
               tossed over and over
                      amidst the sand and water of my home

I am from

Wide open unfinished porches
      Toes up to the edge
              Standing tall in the doorway looking out

I am from gathering grandmothers arms
     aprons with pockets
            filled with Salem cigarettes
                    green packages bring me back

I am from

Nothing

Cast off from family
      left alone to make my way
          Wandering tall buildings of a new city
               trapped in bricks
                    held tight against my history

I am from

Fading hearing
       giving way to clarity

I am from

Silent buses moving me

I am from the power to say I can't hear
      and safety of a friend
            to help me maneuver through my
                  new noisy intrusive world

I am from Love

and from reclamation