Quote of the day...er...week...umm...hey, look, a quote!!

"...besides love, independence of thought is the greatest gift an adult can give a child." - Bryce Courtenay, The Power of One

For old quotes, look here.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

I Am From

I am from blue jeans worn thin at the knees, ragged at the cuffs, dirt and grass stained, faded from indigo to near-grey, from Marshmallow Fluff and peanut butter sandwiches and long summer days at the beach beneath the hammered-bronze sun.

I am from the woods and shores of New England, clammy, foggy mornings redolent of salt and seaweed.

I am from the beach plum in hidden places, the sugar maple's blazing Autumn glory.

I am from lobstering and clam boils, stubbornness and fire, from Papa and Mum, Spousie and Dad, madness (Mary Todd Lincoln) and prose (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow).

I am from sailors and lawyers, artists and musicians.

From "Sit up straight!" and "Suck in your gut".

I am from "God is a nameless stranger in the sky who we pay lip service to a few times a year" and "If you don't donate money, you're not a good Christian" and "There is no God" and much later "the Earth is my religion, my church".

I'm from many places, from Lloyd, Mason, and McRae, from swordfish and Jell-O.

From landing on Watupa Pond and losing a pilot's license, burning down the yacht club, and feeding a pig Ex-Lax before releasing it in a spiteful woman's house while she was away. I am from sailing ships, the Coast Guard, the Air Force, from sailors, fishermen, a silversmith, wealth and poverty.

I am from stairwells hung with massive oil paintings, stern faces watching up,down, transitory wanderings, from sun-filled niches and pastel softness, slight smiles and a face the was my great-aunt, but not, cheap silver frames around fading copies of old black-and-white prints and square photos turning sepia in forgotten albums. I am from attics and shoe boxes and the brass bed that has dulled with time but shines in memory.

I am from Zippo lighters, fine china, sterling silver, and champagne, from horses and tennis and sailing, from bologna and Kraft dinners and throw-the-leftovers-in-the-crock-pot, from fishing for crab, digging clams, shucking corn, digging potatoes, gleaning peas from their pods and moldy cheese. I am from England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, from the United States of America, from places long gone save for my recollection of them, from nobility, statesmen, Gypsies, horse thieves.

I am the sum my ancestry, from long lines dating back to the beginning, diverging, rejoining, from past, present future. I am from primordial ooze and the song of the stars. I am from here and now...and I am where tomorrow comes from...
~~~~~
I found this exercise/Meme at Mizz Magpie's...

Where are you from?

3 comments:

Magpie said...

I am fascinated.

Susan said...

No wonder I've always liked you so much. And, yeah, the way you write probably has something to do with it, too.

That Janie Girl said...

This is awesome.

Exlax pig?

Beautiful.