Where I'm From
Where I'm from...
I'm from the worn-down treehouse
From the batting cage and long driveway
I am from the red house with the blue door and the pond out front
And the s p r a w l i n g yard
I am from the twenty-six acres of woods
Whose leaves provided solace and comfort
I am from campers
And motorcycles
From Gauthiers
And Whitakers
I am from athletes and English tea drinkers
And from brown eyes
From fast drivers
I am from Sunday school on Saturday mornings
I am from Philip Joseph Gauthier Jr.
And Robert Dyson Whitaker Sr.
I am from an English trifle
And French meat pie
From being drafted to Minor League Baseball
And from being drafted to the Korean War
The brown bunny
now turned green after twenty-
Three years
I am from those moments
That took place at the red house,
With the blue door,
With the pond out front,
And the s p r a w l i n g yard
Surrounded by twenty-six acres of woods.
I'm from the worn-down treehouse
From the batting cage and long driveway
I am from the red house with the blue door and the pond out front
And the s p r a w l i n g yard
I am from the twenty-six acres of woods
Whose leaves provided solace and comfort
I am from campers
And motorcycles
And Whitakers
I am from athletes and English tea drinkers
And from brown eyes
From fast drivers
I am from Sunday school on Saturday mornings
I am from Philip Joseph Gauthier Jr.
And Robert Dyson Whitaker Sr.
I am from an English trifle
And French meat pie
From being drafted to Minor League Baseball
And from being drafted to the Korean War
The brown bunny
now turned green after twenty-Three years
I am from those moments
That took place at the red house,
With the blue door,
With the pond out front,
And the s p r a w l i n g yard
Surrounded by twenty-six acres of woods.
Jaci, this is such a cool poem! It's playful in style and medium; certainly quite multimodal. Not only this, I feel that in reading this poem, I am not only able to glean a quick snapshot of who you are as an athlete and person, but who you and your ancestors are. Like you, I am also from French meat pie, from war veterans, from French and British ancestry, and (I presume) an ancestral home (though mine is not painted red with a blue door). You also seem to be in tune with the natural world, which I think is awesome.
ReplyDeleteJaci, I really love the imagery in your poem, both through your images and words. You definitely did an excellent job in making this poem multimodal with your images and videos. I love how you begin your poem by illustrating your connection to nature with your large yard and cool treehouse, which I also connected with in that I also grew up surrounded by woods. I also love how you describe the traits of your family members and how diverse they are:
ReplyDelete"I am from athletes and English tea drinkers
And from brown eyes
From fast drivers."
These traits are differing from one another, yet they make up your family. The details you included in your poem were awesome.
Your poem is beautifully multimodal! I loved all of the pictures, the changes in text color, the videos, they were wonderful! I also loved that it showed me how similar we are from camping, to motorcycles, to dogs, to holding the woods close to your heart. I thought the changes in boldness and space between words were well thought out and a great add to your poem! You had a great rhythm to your lines that made the poem flow almost musically.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate how you celebrate your home and family here, Jaci! And the images really helped me connect with 'where you come from.' I always wanted to live by the woods too, jealous.
ReplyDelete