Poetry by Numbers: Where I'm From

on Friday, November 23, 2007

I saw this beautiful poem by Jessica on daysgoby and I just thought to myself, "How I wish I could write like that." Then I discovered that you could go here and get help to do exactly that. Here is my effort. Jessica's is still way better but this was fun to do. Feel free to do it too. C'mon, you know you want to.

WHERE I'M FROM.....

I am from pick-up basketball games, from Bata shoes and the laughter of friendships on and off the courts.

I am from a home with a large garden, many windows that open to the green of grass, bamboo and fruit trees.

I am from the dainty phloxes in flower pots and large rambutan trees, from orchid plants with roots on charcoal and the rich, clay soil.

I am from family brunches on Sundays and the infectious morning sneeze, from the Babas and the Nyonyas, the Loh's and the Lee's.

I am from intelligent women and strong, silent men.

From fairy tales and fantasy lands and seeing the beauty of nature.

I am from a long line of Buddhists until one by one, we came to know about a loving Saviour and friend in Jesus.

I'm from the meeting of two silty and tin laden rivers, adventurers from the Middle Kingdom, of sweet and sour stir-fried mangrove crabs and the bitter-sweet pork with buah keluak.

From heroes who were willing to die for their friends, but who knew how to live fully and love nature and from deep devotion to children.

I am from seeds now scattered across the globe but united still by the home country, memories of childhood on clean sandy tropical beaches and the love of a multicultural feast of culture and food.



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19 comments:

Evalinn said...

Nice LSG :-)

When I first started blogging u were a big inspiration to me, and u still are! On December the 1st I´m having the 1st anniversary party over at my blog. I´d be so honored if u could come over some time during the day!

Jess said...

This was beautiful, Calvin. All day long I've been thinking about mine, wanting to tweak and add more and thinking about memories - this exercise has stirred a lot up!

You are fascinating. Thanks for doing this.

Janice Thomson said...

This is beautifully penned Lgs! I loved hearing about your country too. The last line was wonderful. Well done!

molly said...

You work fast LGS! Loved reading your version after first finding it on Daysgoby....I'll have to procrastinate a while before I do it!

Anonymous said...

I am from a home with a large garden, many windows that open to the green of grass, bamboo and fruit trees.

I love that line.
tc

Dan said...

Well how cool is that? We're all poets and we don't know its. Or something. :)

Happy Thanksgiving (a day late).

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

evalinn,
What a nice thing to say. I willo definitely be over on the 1st.

jessica,
I really, really like yours. I can see where you deviated from the formula and your extra bits....and it just works so well. It was fun to do precisely cause it brought up all the memories. I enjoyed this very much. Thanks for posting this "meme" of sorts.

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

janice,
Thanks. Poetry by numbers. But it was the memories that was fun.

molly,
The story of the tortoise and the hare. Speed is not the same as quality. I look forward to enjoying your thoughtfully written masterpiece.

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

TC,
thanks. It's one of my happier memories.

Dan,
It's almost like poetry for Dummies but it looks really good. Happy Thanksgiving right back at you.

.Tom Kapanka said...

Those are good "places" to be from. Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Cheryl said...

This is amazing. I saw someone else's poem not too long ago, but couldn't follow the link to do my own. I'll try again. Your's was beautiful.

CS said...

I like that - a little snapshot of you!

Renee said...

I loved your poem!! Sorry I haven't been around much!

Odat said...

wow. that was awesome...and beautiful!
Peace

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

Tom,
Thanks. We don't celebrate Thanksgiving over here but hope yours was a good one.

cheryl,
Thanks. But we are all different and that's what makes our own poem special even when we follow this template. Look forward to reading yours.

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

cs,
Thanks.

squirrel,
Thanks for coming by. I know you are a busy squirrel. I am glad things are going well in your life.

odat,
Thank you for your kind words as always. Peace.

meggie said...

Very nicely done. I loved Daysgoby's too.

Open Grove Claudia said...

How delicious. I love the way you weave common metaphors into your writing. It creates a lovely texture - and this shows the texture of your life. Very, very well don!

heartinsanfrancisco said...

I can't believe I missed this lovely ode to home and to love of family. So beautiful and alive, like the natural world you are so close to.

I really loved reading this and dreaming about your exquisite part of the world which I've never seen.

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