Loni, at Joy in the Morning is holding a contest. I read about it over at The Lilting House, Lissa's wonderful new Clubmom blog. In case you haven' t yet heard the original poem by George Ella Lyons that this contest is based upon, you can read it here.
Here is my attempt to share...
Where I'm From
I'm from Hoover vacuums, Buicks and davenports, from camphor oil and Coke syrup.
I am from the big brick house on Evergreen Drive with the dumb-waiter, just down the road from the swan pond where Pappy and I fed them crusts before we knew that crusts were bad.
I am from forsythia, from grapevines buzzing with honeybees, the fruit hot, musky and sweet.
I am from sailboats and dockside cookouts and lazy eyes,
From Annabelle and Buster and Johann the Gypsy.
I am from wine drinkers and fiddle players,
From "Don't touch" and "Do be careful"
I am from organists in the Cathedrals, the kumbaya years of Catholicism and Lutherans apathetic about Luther.
I'm from Parma and Prague via caravan, spaetzles by hand and John's goulash.
From the waterspout on Lake Erie where we nearly perished, from the peacock on the garage who escaped from the zoo. I'm from a hot-tempered grandfather who threw the Principal's chair out the window on his first day of high school, thus ending his formal education.
I am from cedar chests full of sepiatones and cameos, blond hair clippings between the brittle pages of ancient albums, dried rosebuds and a rhinestone crown from an aging homecoming queen wrapped in pink tissue.
I am from scratch built ship models in museums, painstakingly crafted by the large, tender hands of my father.
