Where I'm From

My students and I read "Where I'm From" by George Ella Lyons this week, analyzed it for sensory language, and then created our own. I am laminating my students' poems and creating a book of them because they turned out FANTASTIC. My students asked me to write one that would be the first page of the book. So here it is:
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Where I’m From

By Shannon Stephan Rodriguez

I am from piles of orange, red, and yellow fall leaves

From sneezing underneath and my Bopaw’s laughter behind the camera

I am from puffy snowsuits

And sleds my mom pulled in the street

Her long dark hair flying behind her

I am from Flintstone vitamins on the bus stop

Seeing and hearing the ice cream man from the upstairs window

Saving my brother’s life

Again and again

And the tall pine tree in the backyard

I am from the steep staircase

That smelled like home

From the basement and the hidden passageway

Filled with my grandparents’ treasures

I am from the above-ground pool and orange swimmies

The birthday parties on the lawn with Batman and Little Mermaid

From DJ, Stephanie, Michelle, and Comet

And unwrapped Christmas presents under the tree

I am from stacks of boxes

A move to beaches and Disney World

Pen-pals and a new school

A cul-de-sac with no cars or sidewalks

That called us to play kickball all day

I am from my brother’s little league games and his basketball hoop

And the cement where my father drew our family name

I am from the boat

Roaring to life and defeating the waves

With “Life is Good” painted in blue on the side

I am from mood swings and fights

From dogs and cats and iguanas and hamsters

Buried now in the backyard

I am from straight A’s and the church choir

From “You’re going to college no matter what”

And “You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar”

From mission trips to foreign lands

My father’s house to my husband’s house

From writing papers to grading papers

And meeting a little boy who is like my very own piece of Heaven on earth