I Am From

I am from stories and superstitions
Smorgasbords and potlucks
Vikings and Hillbillies
the Sea
and a valley filled with Water.

I am from drive-in theaters
Ballet class and Blue Birds
Climbing bars and easels
Cone-hat birthday parties
Sally, Dick, and Jane
and backyard dramas.
I am not from Barbie dolls my mother wouldn't buy.

I am from rain and green
Mud puddles, rubber boots
Pulled tight over saddle shoes
Barefoot soles blackened
by summer city pavement.
I am not from white go-go boots my mother wouldn’t buy.

I am from the Beatles
Joan Baez and Bob Dylan
Peace rallies, Earth Day
And we shall overcome.
I am not from The Lawrence Welk Show.

I am from divorce,
mended one year later.
I am from porcelain broken angel wings
Re-attached, just a trace of brown glue
Revealed in the crack.

I am from
a-house-should-look-lived-in
and no-singing-at-the-table.
I’m from "If you sing before breakfast
you’ll cry before nightfall."
I’m from the Carter Family
and the Man in Black.
I am from “Que Sera Sera.”