Poem: "I Am From..."

[dreamwriters]

Title: I Am From...
Rating: G
Word Count: 404
Line Count: 69
Original/Fandom: Original: Personal Narrative
Notes: This morning's service at church was about Gratitude as a Spiritual Practice and I was asked to do a surprise testimonial reading a poem I wrote during the Salsa, Soul and Spirit workshop series. This is the version I read during the service.
Summary: The many things that make me Me.

I am from...

I am from my father's father
who I never knew
pierogi and kielbasa
and an impossible to spell last name.

I am from my father's mother
Canadian brown bread
twin dresses for my dolls and I
knit blankets, scarves, hats, ponchos and mittens
lobster rolls at D'Angelos after high school
and fresh-baked gingerbread cookies
on my parents's anniversary three weeks before Christmas.

I am from my father's stepfather
the recliner in the parlor
Corned beef and cabbage
Irish-Catholic hymns
prickly beards and shaky hugs goodbye.

I am from my mother's mother
fish and rice, char siu bao
Mew-Mew eating peas under the dining room table
broken English and a fragmented grasp of Cantonese
Chinese calligraphy and paintings on the walls,
tall bamboo plants, antique clawed furniture
and a yellow leather beanbag chair.

I am from my mother
top student, quiet, book smarts
The Muppet Show and Ranklin & Bass's Rudolph stopmotion
and the family push to be the big sister always.

I am from my father
fake newspaper headlines, cartoons and words
learning how to catch a baseball with a laser tag metaphor
It's A Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story, and The Field of Dreams.

I am from my aunt
sleepovers, Star Wars
Johnny Five and creativity.
The idea that with a little imagination
acorn caps become fairy hats
as she transforms clay into little people.

I am from the crows that lived in the tree in my backyard
and later guided me through dark times
learning that there is power in pain
bridging connected worlds.

I am from the teachers who taught me
I could change the world one being at a time
and go beyond the narrow expectations of
cultural and spiritual beliefs

I am from Moonlight & Magick
my first experience of spiritual Other --
Brigid's daughter,
cauldron fire and fairy gardens,
runes and snakes.

I am from Reiki
the energy of the universe
connecting me to
what is, was and will be

I am from storytellers
proving that fiction and reality
can both harm and heal each other
as I welcome the walk-ins and fragments of self
who protect and support me:
my unseen family of choice.

I am more than one:
plural, gender-nonconforming,
pansexual and multiracial:
the idea that what you see
is not necessarily all that I am.

Often there is only one identity
that I am sure of:
I'm a Dreamer
and I'm not the only one.