I am From...

I am from books
     from Merriam-Webster and lists of things to spell forty pages long
I am from white walls and fluorescent lights
     (Harsh, Head-aching, Reflective
     with scribbles informing my house's occupants "Joe Riley was here. August 25th 2005")
I am of the whiteboard
     Expo markers and Sharpies
     whose acrid smell intoxicates the room
     giving a high to those who breathe deeply
I'm from the not-so-smart kids
     and the walking-encyclopedia kids
From the "everyone graduates if you try."

 

I'm from the take responsibility for your actions
And two-hundred high-quality quotes to memorize when writing an essay
From a place where the most unforgivable sin is failure, the second: Plaigarism
And having ten people with no blood relation to me do everything to be sure I succeed
I'm from mystery-meat for lunch
     with a side of "what is that?"
I'm from a drill-instructor, gone teacher, gone mommy
    getting on my case for being late, again.
And then playing a game of "I Hope She Can't Smell My Fear"
I am from this place of education
     where everyone has a chance
     and the Holy Bible consists of Shakespeare's works
     that hold a religion all of their own.

Author's Note

Assignment for my Creative Writing class. Work in progress, but I'm gonna read it tomorrow at the open mic.

Reviews

[Dwayne]

I'm glad you shared it with us Alyssa. A nice mosaic of snapshots from your life. If I can offer a bit of constructive criticism, that smell from sharpies and Expo markers is solvent, not really acrid. Acrid is more like a smoldering pile of leaves just set on fire, freshly crushed bitter greens, or the smell of highly concentrated caustic chemicals. It's still a good attempt to use a less than ordinary word, if somewhat beyond your life's experiences. I always enjoy writing that uses a broader vocabulary and try to do so myself in my own writing.