I'm a Poet and I Didn't Know It

Nina posted this wonderful writing exercise, and I'm going to reproduce her intro verbatim (get it, verbatim?):

I suppose this is a meme, though I am loathe to call it such. It is an exercise to get you thinking and writing, and the results are lovelier than just about any commonly repeated blog post subject I've seen. I discovered it from Kimberly, who got it from Pratie Place, but it originates from Fragments from Floyd and surely many a college poetry class. It's called "Where I'm From" and is based on a poem by George Ella Lyons.

I didn't follow the outline at Floyd's site, though. Here's what I came up with, including later tweaks (with more to come perhaps):

Where I'm From

I'm from Blackberry Lane, from badminton in the backyard, from hot dogs and beans for Sunday lunch, and from jacks on the front stoop. I'm from reel-to-reel home movies, from riding in the neighbor's station wagon, and from waiting all year for "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" to come on TV.

I'm from Swanson's fried chicken TV dinners with apple brown betty dessert, from hammering nails into orange juice cans, from white ankle socks and pixie haircuts and Flintstones jelly juice glasses, and from hand-me-down babydoll pajamas.

I'm from the Saturday night line-up of Brady Bunch, Partridge Family, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, and Carol Burnett. I'm from touching tongues with my sister, from spaghetti dinners at Marconi's, from Paragon Park, and from my parents' martini before dinner.

I'm from cinnamon toast and Little Kiddles, from Romper Room and Kool-Pops, and from Vaseline on my cheeks when I went sledding. I'm from hopscotch and root beer floats and bobby pins, from baby aspirin and sea glass, and from Keds. I'm from braiding Dad's tallis fringes in shul and kickball until dark and endless games of Spite & Malice.

I'm from magic markers and metal toothpaste tubes and impatiens growing near the driveway. I'm from Mom's red Dodge Dart and the smell of Coppertone, from waiting for the Bookmobile, and from listening to Peter and the Wolf. I'm from giggling during the Four Questions, from Lucky Charms, and from playing Red Rover with Dad in the hallway.

I'm from the 'burbs. I'm from youngest of three girls. I'm from me.

Comments

[Melinama]

Thanks for sending this link! I've added you to the list at http://pratie.blogspot.com/2005/02/update-where-im-from-meme.html

come visit! and if you know anybody who does one, please let me know and I'll add him/her to the list.

Melinama

[Scott D. Feldstein]

Reading that causes me delight and anxiety at the same time. It's almost painful. I Romper Room, Keds, TV dinners... they all strongly evoke my own childhood. Which I only dimly recall wasn't all that terrific. There's some lonely and painful stuff there. I won't be attempting this myself.

/ therapy session

[nina]

Oh, I'm so glad you did one! I love the line about you braiding your father's tallis fringes.

[Mark]

Excellent. This would take more introspection than my brain could handle.

[Kimberly]

Pixie haircuts and the Saturday night line-up... I am from around the same time, if not the same place. Glad you decided to join in.

[Roxanne]

Cool post.

[terrilynn]

> pixie haircuts and Flintstones jelly juice glasses, and from hand-me-down babydoll pajamas.

Oh, me too, me too.

Wonderful post.

[Lynda]

Your poem is so beautiful and I feel like I know you. We just need to add some Dippity-Do and some of that pink hair tape... remember that?

[Lynda]

I have to respond to one more thing - we played "endless games of Spite & Malice" too - our grandmother loved cards!