Tammi Belko of Ohio is our host for Day 25 of #VerseLove. You can read her full prompt here. She inspires us today to write Where I’m From poems, based on George Ella Lyon’s “Where I am From” poem. She provides a template to create a “Where I Am From” poem.
Royal Fortress Meadow
I’m from the Royal Fortress Meadow
from Breck shampoo and Johnson’s No More Tears
from wispy locks of amber gold, windblown in the breeze
I’m from chain-woven crowns of wildflowers, dandelions, and daisies
from backlit sunlight exposing the truth: there will never be no more tears
from churning butter and wondering why the pants don’t fit
I’m from ancestors of the lye soap stirred in the backyard tin tub
from the front porch swing and swigging Mason Jars of sweet tea
from wash behind your ears and do a good tick check
from a don’t you slam that screen door one more time! flyswatter granny
who swatted more than flies
I’m from the country church of the cardboard funeral fans
with the off-key piano
I’m from Georgia, Cherokee blood three generation branches up-tree,
still searching for the bloodstained earth of my ancestors
from Silver Queen corn, husks shucked
from shady pecan groves and Vidalia onion fields
from Okefenokee swamplands and railroads
that side that tallied three pees before flushing
from clotheslines of fresh sheets teeming with sweet dreams
from sleeping under a box window fan in sweltering summer heat
from folks doing what they could to survive
Common Threads 
I’ve tried this prompt multiple times and I’ve never quite been satisfied. Yours has a distinct southern tone to it from No More Tears to “no more tears”, you capture that survival mode of our ancestors who had to be tough to survive. I fear we are of a “soft” generation. Your poem is full of place and senses. Thanks for your bold sharing.
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Thank you, Margaret! I think that for the first time ever, I just went with the gist of the template and not the rigidness of it – – because this is several versions in, and it could go many more rounds. I understand what you are sharing – – sometimes the forms are helpful, and sometimes their fill in the blanks become limiting rather than empowering. I appreciate your kind comment! I also turned the one from Tammi Belko’s prompt into an etheree reverso.
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