Based on Where I’m From, by George Ella Lion
I am from pain and sorrow
I am from hope
I am from perfection and desire, want and privilege
I am from tragedy and opportunity from hiding place and exploration in a walk-in closet
I am from the sweet taste of birch bark growing outside my bedroom window
I am from cozy nooks and lovely nests and bird would find too neat
I am from vision and blindness blue-eyed and guarded
I am from prima-donna and thunder thighs
I am from diets and self-doubt and fitting in, or not, with the mean girls
I am from independence and solitude and expectation
I am from behind my back and to my face and what’s in between
I am from taking things personally and getting personal
I am from acts of kindness, well-intentioned and not always well-received
I am from “how can I be better” and “I am not good enough”
I am from between dead children, Paige and Kerin and before the brother, born blind and angry
I am from overlooked and overscheduled, from wanting to rest to resisting it
I am from love
