Friday, October 13, 2006

Who I Am: Connect the Dots



I am from light, yes, a spark from the great Intelligent Light that set the universe afire, from Love, both spirit and matter, yes, and from the green living body of the earth, ocean and saltgrass, rain and roots. I am from amoeba, invertebrate to vertebrate, from Lucy. I am from Ephriam, from ancient Celts breathing in haze rising from peat bogs. I am from tassled cornfields in Cornwall, from the fires and peppered spices of Spain, from El Cid. I am of salt miners and salt barges of Cheshire, I am from their empty bellies and of the potatoes and buttermilk that filled them. I am from sailing ships, and steamboats. I am from children walking behind handcarts crossing the vast American prarie, I am from their frozen feet, wrapped in gunnysacks or dancing polkas or Fylde waltzes or Virginia reels. I am from fiddles and string bands and French horns. I am from sego lilies and lumpy dick and bread n'with it, from white salamanders and the three Nephites and funeral potatoes. I am from gold miners and lumberjacks, and red-haired women. I am from pony tails. I am from books. I am Plantagenet, and DeBohun. I am Shearer and Barkdull and Wolfe. I am Hatton, and Mau, the English, the German, the Scot. I am from Eva Pearl and Glen "A", the second of two, the female model. I am white beans and banana peppers, pot roast, macaroni and tomatoes. I am from both pain and pleasure. I do not ask perfection. I only ask for NOW. I am from poetry and a perfect brightness of hope. I am from wings.

(Inspired from January, at Poet Mom's list. Thanks!)

7 comments:

Tammy Brierly said...

That's amazing! What a wonderful piece, I must go find this :)

jillypoet said...

What a list! Such wonderful language! I love this. I can hear how proud you are of where you come from. My grandma always talked about bread and with it! And she was German and Scot! Maybe I am from you, too!

Joyce Ellen Davis said...

tammy, it is on january's About Me sidebar. It's wonderful. She also has some "You bring out the ____in me"
poems that would be fun to try.

Jilly, maybe you are! That would be too cool! Thank you both.

Mary Bee said...

I am life.

Anonymous said...

I was just driving on the american prarie today...And its stillness is like no other simple beauty I know.

You certainly are from wings...you are wings!

Joyce Ellen Davis said...

maryellen: without a doubt!
wendy: Thank you. And, wherever you're going, have a good trip! Be safe.

mareymercy said...

This is an awesome post!