WHERE ARE YOU FROM?
Where am I from?
So many possible answers.
Well, two really.
Am I from London,
Home of the fish and chips
Home of the tea and crumpets,
Or am I from Darien,
The home of nothing special,
but the people there will say there's plenty?
Is my calling more towards soccer (sorry, football)
Or more towards lacrosse?
Would I rather go on to be a professor,
Or study history or something classical,
Or would I rather go on to be a stock broker,
Taking part in the rat race that with million others
Every single day?
Am I from the Eye, from Ben, or from the river
(We all know the one)
Or from the Sport Shop, the Social, the Pond?
Was I raised to believe that all who try
Deserve a chance
Or was I raised to believe that those who are less fortunate
Deserve nothing?
Would I rather be known as the worldly fellow,
Who can understand the views of the masses,
Or would I rather be the boy in the bubble,
As outsiders call those in this town?
Is it possible to be from both?
Is it possible to be both aware
and beautifully, hopelessly oblivious
to all things around me?
I guess being both couldn't be bad,
A dual citizenship is pretty neat, I guess,
Even though I most certainly
Do not have an accent
(Wouldn't that be cool though?).
So if you ask me where I'm from,
Please be aware that for me,
That is a difficult question to answer.
Brian, I like the dichotomy you create between the two different places and how you very consistently use parallel structure to create the contrast between them. It's a really effective strategy. (Weirdly, I've lived in both places, too--although can't claim to be from either of them.) I wonder if it's worth mentioning the great difference in size between them. Maybe that's too obvious to include, but for me, the culture of a place depends so much on its size and its boundaries. (You may have been a little harsh on Darien--there are lots of really good people there!)
ReplyDeleteI like how you took a different approach than others to answering the essential question. You didn't necessarily "tell" us where you were from, but you made us think about where you were from by setting your poem up with questions; showing how you can have many possible answers.
ReplyDeleteThis was really unique and interesting. I especially like how you said that you're from more then one place. This shows that people can move around and are not just limited to being from on specific place. I also like how you said the different things you do. Once again this shows that people are not limited to just one thing.
ReplyDeletei really really liked how you ended this poem, with how its hard to answer the question of where you're from. In fact i feel the same way! Also i really hope no one from Darien reads this...too harsh?? ehhh maybe
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