HPA and GSMS Grade Eight LA
Where I am From
I am from reminders
A string tied around my finger,
the blurred scrawl of my palm
But why?
I’m from “I can’t remember,” and
“I must have forgotten.”
I am from the tip of my tongue
to the back of my hand
I’m from sweaty socks in my kindergarten cubbyhole,
accumulating everyday as chilly mornings
melt into torrid afternoons
I’m from the liberation of shucking wet snow pants
in the middle of the hall.
I am from the momentum of discovering
those letters linked into words
and words into sentences
From being a constructor,
intangibly,
I could make them,
rearrange them.
I am from dandelion blush smeared on my freckled face
soon to be mutilated by allergic reactions
From the four-foot dancing wunderkind
mirrored in your laughter-crinkled eye
I am from beside your hospital bed
from never understanding
and from regrets
I am from Arcade Fire
From You never trust a millionaire quoting the
sermon on the mount,
and the album I can quote word for word
I’m from long car rides home at night
the dark trees a blur of indigo from my best Crayola palette
as I drift in and out of sleep
I am from never emerging victorious from the battle with fatigue
and gratefully waking up to the sunlight-soaked curtains
of a new day.
Where I'm From
I am from donairs and rootbeer
Cereal every morning
Scrambling to get ready for school
So my mom wouldn’t be late for work
I am from starting in basketball
Weight on my shoulders
Being the pointguard
During provincial weekend
I am from long drives
To Moncton, Saint John, PEI
And even Nova Scotia
And from sports being my life and passion
I am from playing flag football
In the sweet, warm air
I am from fighting with my siblings
Day in, and day out
I am from “suck it up!”
“Walk it off!”
I am from video games
Call of Duty nerd is what I was
I am from always wanting my brother home
Doing everything with him,
Sharing a room with him
Until I was 11
I am from “you’re so skinny.”
“Put some meat on those bones.”
And even “you’re strong for your size!”
I always agreed
I am from being scared to die
Scared to die alone
Scared to lose my family
And scared to lose my friends
I am from thinking all of those things
Before bed from the age 5-11
Where I'm From
I’m from aspiring to be a
human Barbie doll
the mind of a four year old
poisoned by the media
thinks toxic thoughts
I’m from live music
hypnotized by the drums beating in my chest like
a second pulse
I Hugged Joel Plaskett
I’m from second hand shops
two dollar shirts that
smell like old lady
when you stop basing your clothing options on
the gender binary
I’m from collecting records
the therapeutic popping and
crackling of the dust
filled needle like
wood burning in a fire place
gliding in circles in the
grooves of my beloved vinyls
I’m from Joan Jett and Courtney Love
Feminism was my passion before I knew its title
fighting things as basic as “girl colors” to
heated debates about
being pro-choice and “asking for it”
I’m from a musty basement with
that I spent days in
decorated with a tattoo table,
a rock solid sofa that has
destroyed my back time and time again and
a window that is possible to slip out of
I’m from aspiring to be a
low life lo-fi listening punk
“all we are is bad kids” is a lie
we were those kids sitting on the couch
I’m from being fossilized in my bed
not willing to budge when I
hear Debbie Harry shrieking “ima gonna love ya too!”
frantically counting how many days before I
encounter 7th grade for the second time
I’m from Alf and Full House
at nine years old I was ready to call myself a Tanner
knowing their chaotic households as well as
my own uneventful duplex
I’m from “I just made you say underwear” and
the classic rock radio station that
followed me everywhere
absent-minded and un-appreciative
until the shrill voice of Niki Menaj woke me up
I’m from a nauseating caffeine addiction
after a while I bought everything with quarters
if I had kept all my
yellow vitamin water bottles
my room would be a barricaded blur of
yellow and plastic
I’m Joe’s attempt at teenage rebellion