In these poems, based on “Where I’m From” by George Ella Lyon, students consider their personal origins.

“I am from two places”

By Denise Alotto

I am from two places 

My heart lies in one 

Two doors that await my arrival 

One welcomes me with a smile while the other lays out expectations and foundations 

For who I am supposed to be 

I am from a world filled with noise where I take the choice to not voice who I am 

I am from the collection of rejection and doubt happening in my mind 

I am from the many unopened childhood books that lay collecting dust 

I am from your criticism but I know when to take it with a grain of salt 

I am from a hardworking machine that never makes a scene to get a break 

I am the power at my mother’s core I admire the many prices that she sacrificed to keep working

I am from the worry about my grandfather’s health; the negativity that surrounds it becoming captivity for the mind 

I am from the fear of being confined in a place where my heart does not lie

I am from the place where my heart lies which will be the ultimate prize when I get there 

I am from an ongoing blooper that ends when I embrace my future 

By Jaden Belger

I was from a different world 

A bustling red house in a lonely town

I was from sound

Music, sewing, cooking, yelling in the background

I was from a fleeting happiness 

In my uncle’s visits

I was from imagination

Marker covered hands and paper scraps 

I am from a lonely house in a bustling town

Occupied by two 

I am from wondering

Who are you

I am from mediocrity 

With my achievements spelt through B’s and C’s

I am from fiction

Always thinking what if

“I was from Old Crayola Paints”

By Sarah Mazowiecki

I am from old crayola paints,

From rain pattering on window sills.

I am from oversized coats and scarves,

From chilly days with ice nipping my nose.

I am from the birds that sit outside my window.

From baby birds and kittens,

I am from shelters and animal rescues. 

I am from star filled nights,

And old worn story books.

I am from Grimms’ Fairy Tales and Goodnight Moon.

I am from mythology, 

Where gods and higher beings sit on pink clouds.

I am from tales that wrap around history,

Warping our perspective of life. 

I am from magic filled lands,

With anti heroes and underdogs. 

I am from my own world,

An imaginary world.

Where clouds are easy to reach, where the sea is blue and gold.

Where bushes grow perfect berries and diamonds.

I am from my own imagination. 

With creatures and people like me.

I am from my own creations,

People who can grow taller than beanstalks,

And creatures with four hundred eyes.

With a boy who has static for eyes,

And a woman who is made of shadows.

I am from my dream world,

An escape world. 

I am from my family.

My mother who supports me, while having to balance her own plate.

A mother who is sensitive.

I am from a grandfather who builds little towns and stories.

A grandfather who is comedic. 

I am from a grandmother who is intensely caring.

A grandmother who is stubborn. 

I am from a family that I love.

A family who loves me equally.

That is where I am from.