Nadav Sharkey and Eskil Williams Oerberg have sent in some September celebration poems…a way to venture into a new school year. Fine writing…!

I am from; Nadav Sharky 

I am from a new small city that hardly snows 

I’m from the springy grass spots on our rooftop 

From the sounds of birds chirping 

From the sound of the wind swinging by my window 

I’m from the old “hunted house” on the hills above my neighbour’s house 

I’m from the games me and my friends used to play

From the old running man, we used to laugh at

I’m from the hoodies I love to wear

From the perfect four slices of pizza, we split every Friday From the buildings that fell apart as we grew up 

From the good days and the bad days
I’m from a lot of things but, my family means the world to me 

I am from

by Eskil Williams Oerberg

I am from the apartment in the middle of the street 

With the never-ending noise always offbeat

From drawing on the wall

and throwing with legos

From practicing math 

and reading science

From crying in my bed, that was not just pretend

When I thought the world was coming to an end

From reading in the depth of night

and “watching the blood moon tonight”

I am from the family Christmas

With the never-ending food that wasn’t nutritious

From the finishing my plate 

With my mother’s carrot cake

From my dad’s lasagna

and the miracles shakes

From getting teased for looking like a girl

To being called a nerd

From flipping a bottle with many retakes

To  from playing soccer in breaks 

I am from playing chess with high stakes

and from being scared of snakes

I Am From

By: Alicia Bryant

I am from backyard laughter

From catching fireflies at dusk

And dancing to 60’s music at midnight

I am from chasing siblings that hide 

And giggling while hiding from seeking siblings.

I am from collard greens that smell of trash

And from potato salad and coleslaw that taste of mayo

I am from avoiding a hot oven

From peeking under pots 

And chidings of touching unfinished food.

I am from the coast

From blistering heat and high humidity

I am from sandy beaches

And from harrowing hurricanes

Of thunderstorms that scared the oldest of us.

I am from staying in or out of the house

But not being in and out

I am from touchless and sightless trips to the store

And from being brought into this world

Yet always reminded I could be taken out of it too.

I am from Elizabeth and Darryl

From a mother who has never left my side

And a father who forgot every birthday after the fifth

I am from Will and Mary

Whose greatness didn’t come from their titles but their souls.

I am from

I am from a city built of honeycomb coloured stone.

A city of elegant crescents and squares.

A city built on the wealth of Slave Traders.

I am from a paternal grandfather who enjoyed the football at Twerton Park.

I am from a paternal great grandfather who came home shell shocked from the Boer War.

I am from a paternal great great grandfather who entered running competitions on the streets of Bath.

Abel ran – he was a printer on the Chronicle.

I am from further up the Avon River.

Close to where John Hallett the cheesemonger lived.

The Whitings lived close to Lower Bristol Road.

Paradise Street, Wood Street, Westmoreland Buildings.

I am from a paternal grandmother who always wore a blue dress.

I am from a maternal grandmother whose first child was born when she was 38.

I am from a family of women who sewed their own clothes.

A family of women who did other people’s laundry.

I am from close to Twerton Roundhill.

A place we played on Sundays.

I am from the Sandpits – formerly a Brick and Tile Works.

I am from the Brickfields – a short cut through Victoria Brick Works.

I am from close to the Somerset and Dorset line.

The train that took us to the south coast.

I am from days on the beach of a Devon or Dorset resort.

I am not from a place where I saw a seahorse for the first and only time.

I am here now – and this is my home.

Heather Anne (Bristol)

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.

Where I am from

By: Johanna Ellerbe Cabrera

I am from beaches that nourish your soul

and hurricanes that blow your mind, roof and floor boards

I am from tiny ants bubbling over sweet bread crumbs

dropped on Mami’s immaculate front porch

I am from tree climbing cousins that

introduced me to honied mangos and quenepas

I am from an unmentioned town

that no one knows about

until they need a Caribbean getaway

I am from Lela’s blissful kitchen and rosary schedule

I am from rice and bean dinners ready by midday and “you better clean that plate”

I come from the strongest women I have ever met,

their prayers and praises

to “go to school”, because “you are smart”

But choose a career suited for a woman, and choose a career for a mother

I come from words so honest they stab your soul for decades

and curses so loud they cure any ailments

I come from Vicks rubbed on your chest so you can breathe

and on your cuts so they can heal

I am from Sundays are for church and “damn it, sit still”

I am from my tribes’ prayers and tears,

I am from thick, thick, love and pasteles for breakfast

I am from poverty I did not know existed until I left home

and street games that we played barefoot

I am from rivers deep and muddy

shells for necklaces, and my flag on everything.