Where I’m From #2
By Angelique Gagnon
Inspired by George Ella Lyon
I am from sheet music,
From bacon grease saved in glass jars and Land-O-Lakes butter.
I am from the brown Victorian house that
by outward appearance never reached its full potential,
(2-story, kept at 65 degrees, in the sub-zero winter.)
I am from the Lily of the Valley,
delicate, late birthday gift of Spring,
whose aroma I secretly wished I could embody.
I’m from the Christmas tree going up after Thanksgiving dinner
and letting music move our bodies.
From Alverta Mae and Ulysses Duke.
I’m from the daily giving of hugs and kisses,
and long explorative conversations.
From “sparkle plenty!” and “you’re my pumpkin pie.”
I’m from the small generational Episcopal church,
the Guild of the Black Madonna,
Miss Mabel sharing butterscotch candies,
and the lighting of four purple Advent candles.
I’m from the Twin Cities and
the Corams who chose not to “pass” for white,
slow-cooked collard greens and
plastic gallon buckets of Kemp’s ice cream.
From the sobering talks in teenage years,
struggles with alcoholism on both side of the family,
and my mom’s deliberate directive to change that genetic expression.
The old-time-y tunes, hummed
accompaniment to step wet feet on a towel’s edge,
while her grand wrinkled hands used the rest to pat me dry.
In the living room on a bookshelf of reclaimed wood
are three intentional photo albums my mother assembled
months prior, in anticipation of her final days.
For arms that can no longer hold me,
mouths no longer tell stories,
my eyes can still meet their still captured faces:
pages of life that rise into mine.
Where to find Angelique:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angelqtwo/
Where to find Alyson:
Website: https://www.alysonshelton.com
Substack: https://whereimfrom.substack.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/byalysonshelton/
