Poem

Where I’m From


I am Anne with an e
But don’t ask me to recite Anne of Green Gables
I was never a fan

I read “Little House” and cheered for Laura Ingalls
With stacks of books covering every space in my bedroom
Bringing me to faraway places

I am not from “Up North”
I’m from da U.P. eh?
No, not Canada, Michigan has two peninsulas

My community is logging and mining and farming
With wide open fields and tall, tall trees
But most of all, loving

I am from hunting and fishing and skiing
Fish boils each summer and venison all November
And sometimes even flannel wearing

But we’re not backwards or backwoods or back anything
Every car in my yard is running
And the bathroom in my house has real indoor plumbing

I am from the smell of fresh cut grass
Swinging a golf club through the sweet dew
Enjoying an early round on the course

I am from summers spent under the stars
Camping with smoky fires and s’mores
With the smell of sunscreen and warm summer days

I am from a family of five
With five generations of parents and grandparents all from my little town
I would never trade where I am from