Snapshots from the Family Album

I wrote “Snapshots from the Family Album” for the 2016 Kentucky Arts Council’s “Where I’m From: A Poetry of Place.” It uses the structure and style of Kentucky Poet Laureate George Ella Lyon’s original “Where I’m From” poem.

I’m from dirt roads and mud ruts,

from blackberry briars, wild and tame.

I’m from toe-tapping music in the kitchen with friends,

4-H projects,

and two-week cousin sleepovers on the floor.

I’m from front porch sitting, cedar wood whittling,

and June apples dipped in salt.

I’m from church bells rung with a rope

and funeral home fans waving in time to shape-note music.

I’m from gardening and freezing and canning

from spring ’til fall.

I’m from a Heinz 57 family

poured over cornbread and beans,

from grannies who wore aprons

and uncles in overalls.

I’m from firm handshakes, do your best,

sit up straight, and look everyone square in the eye.

I’m from a man’s only as good as his word,

and the best words are found

in the Word of God.

I’m from clear blue skies, pop-up storms,

Queen Anne’s lace and chigger bites.

I’m from leapfrog, Red Rover, tag,

and I spy ’til darkness dimmed our eyes.

Pictures taken and not,

flashes of time that transcend time,

take me home from time to time

to remember and relive.

“Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you” (Deuteronomy 32:7 NIV).