• where i'm from


    i am from the view out my window,
    from lonely roads dotted with streetlights.
    i am from familiar pages
    (read over and over,
    in hopes of change.)
    i am from independence and lack of direction,
    happiness taking different forms
    and repeating itself like a broken record,
    lighter and duller than rain.

    i am from dimly burning candles,
    from cursing and gestures that hurt,
    my numbers adding up to no one.
    i am from pen and paper,
    and the faint sound of the ceiling fan
    singing to the melody of words in ink.
    from the mistakes and failures filling my wastebasket
    and feelings of invisibility like
    robots writing novels.

    i am from pictures and still frames
    hanging heavy in my room like the smell
    of paint, thoughts flowing freely.
    i am from running in the hallways,
    open arms and pretty smiles much waited for,
    that seem to open these eyes of mine.
    i am from shadows dancing on the walls
    of the room where thoughts became music
    and satisfaction emptied the wastebasket.