From where I hide my mind

A character poem based on a man I saw at Target. This is done in the style of George Ella Lyon's poem "Where I'm from."

I am from grime and dirt
From Slim Jim, and Skoal, and Yamaha
I am the sock lost under the bug-ridden bed
I am from the tissue, yellowed by time and smut
I am from the hunted doe
Pursued and gasping
I am from the books of thought
Hidden on out of place shelves
I am from factory soot
Black and warily found
I am from Hephaestus’s forge
Hammered in the minds of unforgiving people
From the closet hiding only denim of brown
And from the sole of wore out boots
I speak with the voice of men not heard
And men understood even less
I am from the bark of a gnarled oak
Ancient, ugly, and secretly wise
I am from old burnt cigarettes
And from trays fill with sulfurous ash
I am air hidden in the earth and fire
A gem in the depths of the mire
I am from mind concealed in flesh
Feeling, thinking, but never expressing
My heart yearns for the page
As my back yearns for the pause
I am from the aisle of poverty
Never dreaming of rising above
Never seeing as others see me
I am from the heart of Homer
I am from the heart of Virgil
I am from the heart of the tome.

 

Reviews

[ShadowOfTheDay]

Beautiful. This is very powerful. Good job(:

[cest la vie]

Wow.. "I am from.." how much depth you gave this simple phrase..I am standing on the sidelines picturing this man speaking aloud to just anyone, or perhaps no one. This is well written and I really enjoyed the read.

[Lydia R. Ferraro]

powerful and beautiful.

I liked the many twists and turns of imagery...

I believe I can picture the individual you were describing.

[odhiambo]

powerful