Where Im From

I am from buildings
From skyscrapers and small delis
I am from the gum under the shoe. (Pink, dull,
I wouldnt dare taste it)
I am from the garden,
The greenest state
Whose long highways I remember
As if they were my own

I am from funnel cake and eyeglasses, from Leonard and Michelle

Im from the do-what-you-loves and the never-give-ups
From live it up and tear it down. Im from the original thirteen which I can say
myself.

Im from the Hardy and Bradley Branch, big things and great parties.
From the hand my brother took to the face
The eye that swell up afterwards but kept his sight. Under my bed was a lot
old shoes
a sift of many miles walked
to take me from place to place
I am from those miles walked
Tied before I went places
Still not far from the family tree

By Julian Hardy