I am from channel selectors,
from TJ Maxx and Scott Towels.
I am from the house with no hot water.
(Cold, wet,
it felt like ice.)
I am from the Hydrangeas,
the Night Jasmine
that only blooms during the night.

I’m from the Easter egg hunts and
Christmas mass,
from Kathy and Jean and Cassi.
I’m from the too louds
and last ones to leave,
from don’t move away and Daddy’s little girl.
I’m from marry a Catholic man
and stop singing so loud in Church

I’m from Arabi and Chalmette,
macaroni and sweet potatoes.
From the degree my grandfather
got at seventy-seven,
the alligator that bit my grandfather’s finger.

In a closet was a plastic box
organized for each child,
preserving arts and crafts from long ago.
I am from the experiences--
captured in a camera --
before they turn into a memory.