Where I’m From

By: Jadie Ngo

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I am from a basket filled with toys and stuffed animals.

Packed with treasures who are lifelong friends.

Once endlessly opened for fun and joy.

Now left dusty and abandoned with hazy memories.

I am from the countless rose bushes that guard our yard.

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Face so bright that it covers the pain and hurt on its body.

I am from calla lilies planted in our soil.

Desperately waiting for the light to strike during its dark, lonely journey.

I am from that loving fog that covers downtown Seattle.

That enchanting fog, wrapping you up so sweetly.

Engulfing you so tightly.

Spilling with overwhelming amounts of love

I am from those warm yet distant hands

Covered with scratches of hard work for my happiness.

Hidden with touches of cuts and wounds.

Unintentionally making permanent marks along the way.

I am from the moments of laughter that bloom from our walls.

Planting me down like roots in the dirt.

Moments that I will forever cherish in my heart.

Keeping me feel safe and complete.

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"Where I am From" by Evan Li

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I am from the chilly February morning

As the Moirai grant the woman lying in the hospital bed overcome with exhaust

The gateway to motherhood

I am from my mother’s warm embrace Maternal warmth that I will cherish with me throughout the journey we call life

As my cries ring out

Echoing through the walls of the place my story begins

I am from the stories told and the songs sung

About a sleepy village on the coast of Southern China

My lineage draws legacy from

I am from spending the first Sunday of each month

Calling to distant relatives an ocean away Sharing experiences through different lives Yet very much the same skin we are constructed from

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I am from the dusty envelope of photographs

Taken from moments of belonging in a second home I call Toisan

Kept in a drawer next to my bed

Every time I start to forget who

I am It serves as a gentle reminder

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Where I am from