I am from cruise ships, balconies above water,
and ocean waves that whisk past me,
I am from fields of foxes and hay a plenty,
and a white fluffy Japanese Spitz named Fritz,
I am from thirty-foot tall cottonwood trees,
and tulips just beginning to spurt from the ground,
I’m from little red and white paper flags, straw goats,
and kliner at Christmas, and windmills on houses,
From German paper stars, Irish potatoes, and Uncle Sam,
From colorful fish, sea shells, that sweet taste of salt water,
Warm fresh breezes, that zip your thoughts open,
I’m from take-a-dog-leg, and not-a-ton,
I’m steeped in God, but not by church,
From mac-n-cheese from scratch and burgers on the grill,
I am from hand me the wrench and make the DVD player work,
I am from a lawyer turned small businessman, a jack-of-all-trades,
and a film buff to a barista,
From a great grandfather who walked from Atlantic City, New Jersey
to San Francisco in 1903 just to see if he could,
I am from a marine of World War II,
And an immigrant who came through Ellis Island,
Pennsylvania Dutch and Irish-Catholics,
I’m a ladleful from the melting pot.
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Submission Name: Where I'm From
