Where I Am From - by Donna (Ensign) Woods

(Modeled after a poem by Georgia Ella Lyons)

I am from 40th and plum...
40 miles from No-where and Plum out in the sticks
...as my Daddy used to say...
Strasburg, Illinois

I am from the screen door slamming
and cookies baking.
I am from simple times, hard work and good neighbors.
Noodles drying on the kitchen table,
Dinner rolls, apple pies and macaroni and cheese.

I'm from huge gardens, canning rings,
and the sound a mason jars sealing.
I am from 13 County fairs,
Perfect vegetables on plates of 5,
Display baskets, crepe paper and parsley.

I am from Bob and Wanda
Number 4 of 5.
Long days, short nights and cold winters
I am from the oil burner...
Standing close...warming one side at a time.
I am from everything olive green.

I am from the wringer washer on the back porch
and clothes hung neatly on the line.
I am from the grape arbor and
The sweet smell of spearmint.
I am from 4-H and Home Ec,
Learn it all...Do it all !!

I am from Bogie, Pepper, Smitty
and my little Tony dog.
I am from mud between my toes and
the dirt road hill.... with the old iron bridge,
waiting at the bottom, just for me.
I am from trails through the timber
and the mushroom patch.
Blackberries and chigger bites.

I am from the chicken house,
Feathers, butchering and frying.
I am from tricycles and mud puddles
lightning bugs and home made dresses
...polyester double knit.

I am from troll dolls and Barbie dolls
and the Box Elder tree...
Hot Wheels cars and a road of pretend
around the trunk.
I am from art class and Mrs. Ray
Sketching, painting and the pottery wheel.
I am from the writing desk
and the fine point pen.

I am from the angel in the Christmas pagent
White sheet gown and wings of tin foil and cardboard.
I am from Duck-Duck Goose and
Red Rover Red Rover.
I am from the Carom board and Monopoly
and the card table tent.

I am from monsters in the attic and under the bed...
Creaky stairs and a vivid imagination!!
I am from Nancy Drew mysteries
and Gilligan's Island
I am from Precious and Few, Time in a Bottle,
and Love Story.
Lost in the 70's, bell bottoms and
the Vietnam war...

I am from basketball games and Comet Power.
Listening with tears in my eyes as
the National Anthem played.
I am from green and white pom- poms
and School Song...
A shiny gym floor and popcorn.

I am from the cow pasture and the metal gate
...fishing June bugs out of the water tank...
I am from the majestic old acorn tree
that always stood watch over me.

I am from hope and promise
yesterday, today and tomorrow,
...I am from God's plan...