Where I’m From
Svetlana Shcherbik
I am from floor to ceiling bookshelves
tightly packed with books and encyclopedias
my books are at the bottom,
but the most interesting are, of course, up high
I am from the quiet family nights
filled with rustle of newspapers and book pages
From watching hockey games and figure skating on TV
I am from big white birch tree behind the window,
branches touch the window while I do my homework
I am from wooden toys and glass stars on a Xmas tree
I am from summer garden with current and raspberry bushes
and from hot strong black tea with jam and honey
I am from dense forest with high pines and cedars
And lingenberries and mushrooms under the feet
I am from my grandma Frosya and her small white clay house
I am from my grandma Zenya’s village and the smell of a fresh hay
I am from the war my grands and my parents lived through and survived
I am from the folk dance and loud singing around the table
To celebrate the life and enjoy it to its fulness.
Where I’m From
Karen Hong
I am from a big city with skyscrapers, highways, and streams of heavy traffic
from a panda home and spicy cruise
I am from the big city with a fast-paced environment and city noise
I am from the big city with abundant white peach trees
whose flowers and fruits decorate and feed us
I am from a notebook and pike pen, precious gifts from my grands and parents
I am from traditional sports and family games and from subdivision storytellers.
I am from the place where TAO spiritual beliefs rose about 2500 years ago with compassion,
kindness, love, simplicity, frugality, and humility
I am from both traditions my mother’s and my father’s families
from the traditional dumpling and steam Bao Bun that we eat
from a Chinses New Year festival
and from the celebration of life’s prosperity with a “Red Envelope” and firework
I am from those moments of living in the big city and my culture traditions.
Where I’m From
Yuna Kim
I am from an attic and a pump
From a television with four legs and 12 color crayons
I am from a little house with a roof top where laundry dries in a sunlight
And a blue colored gate with hinged doors
I am from yellow forsythia and dandelion with white puffs
Whose greeting and whispering make me happy
I am from good health and honesty
From Kim and Ha
I am from a blue-collar worker and Confucianism
From “Stay low, and say humbly”
From “Men have to take responsibility for family”
I am from “Today is always better than yesterday”
I am from a bear wanted to be human and a big egg laid by a woman
From steamed rice and Kimchi
From Hangeul created by King Sejong
And from Democracy achieved through civil movements
I am from a spoonful of warm rice soup by my grandma
From cold water pours from the pump,
From a cloudy incandescent bulb in the attic,
From the laundry dries in the sunlight,
And from the dandelion puffs blown away.
I Am From Project 