I Come From Here: a poem
Sacramento River
by Kristine Scholz of A Shelter From The Storm
I come from peaceful swimming holes…picnics on a hot summer day.
I come from mystical misty rain forests…lush ferns that glisten in a shaft of sunlight.
I come from New Hampshire. Massachusetts. France. Nova Scotia. Quebec. Sweden. England.
I come from mailmen and factory workers. Fishermen and mapmakers. War veterans.
I come from stay at home mothers. Writers. Thinkers. Feminists. Nurses. Farm women.
I come from small town neighborhoods. Freedom to play. To wander. To grow.
I come from the land of loggers. Hard drinkers. Hard workers. Hard players.
I come from a home full of brothers. Neighbor kids. Foster children. A room of my own.
I come from a rock solid educational foundation. Small school. Excellent teachers.
I come from endless outside games. Horseback riding. Bicycles. Forts. Snow.
I come from the ocean. Fishing trawlers. Hood Canal. Butter clams.
I come from ice cream cones. Dairy Day parades. Penny candy. 5-and-dime stores.
I come from paper dolls. Chatty Cathy. Skipper. Tammy. Barbie. Midge.
I come from my bedroom. Sunbonnet quilt. Cherry blossoms outside the window.
I come from books. Comic books. Music. Poetry.
I come from dinner at the table. Hand-washed dishes. Laundry on the clotheslines.
I come from love misunderstood. Misdirected. Confused. Hidden in layers.
But love nonetheless.
I come from God, and He has directed my life.
All Top Stories 
Thank you, Kelly and Joanna. Poetry has always been the ‘writing realm’ where the deepest feelings come out of me. I’ve written it from as far back as I can remember. I was given a priceless gift from my best friend of 42 years last year, a Family Tree she’d done of my lineage that dates back to the early 1600s. It got me to thinking about where I’d come from and the impact of those who’ve affected my life along the path I’ve travelled so far, from my earliest childhood to the ‘midlife’ woman I am today.
Simply stunning! Thank you.
This was lovely. I love the idea that we have come from all other women before us, and that we become as we read the words of others, as writers and bloggers.