A Poem from a Homesick College Student

I have always used poetry and creative writing to help me process my emotions. I think the beautiful thing about personal poetry is the fact that even though my audience might not understand the images and memories I describe, they can use this piece to reminisce on their own childhood experiences. Welcome to the stories of my beginning.

I am from the Sassy-Fras home,

A blanket of warm comfort. 

Picture books with worn bindings

Rest casually.

Laurie Berkner songs echoe 

Through floor moldings. 

Spoonfuls of pastina and sour cream  

Slide between pink lips

And into smiling mouths,

Mending melancholy days. 

Cream cheese and jelly omelets

Melt for soft swallows.

Painted pottery stand proudly

Atop a wooden cabinet. 

Christmas mugs of chubby Santas 

And jolly reindeer 

Hibernate underneath basement shelves. 

I am from the yellers

And the repeaters;

Their enthusiasm 

As contagious as a head cold. 

An ancestor of 

Worriers and fish toe women.

Pink and blue daisy shoes

Break or go missing, 

And pastel jingle shells 

Crunch under calloused heels. 

A battle between a hand

And a cherry red watering can.

Then a defeat,

Causing seven black stitches. 

I am from endless visits

To Greenport,

Endless hours 

In Creations By Lisa, 

And Doodles 

At breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 

I am from the top of the closet,

Cramped, cool, dark. 

• blanket
• family
• Greenport
• home
• homesick
• poem