On your mark, get set, go!
Is what my cousin Brianna yelled as I got ready to endure another loss against my cousin Sheila in racing.
Or how about time to play freaky Friday!
Those are the
Things that I remember
on 21st place
my grandfather’s block
the block that I am from.
I am from watered down hot chocolate with marshmallows in the winter.
And huge slices of watermelon when my grandfather felt like we deserved it in the summer.
I am from
a black leather belt so thick and wide
that when you got a whooping
you’d learn from your mistakes.
I am from a million man march of screaming parents shouting ooh don’t do this and oh don’t do that.
I am from
pine-sol, bleach, and extra clean parents
the ones that yell take out the garbage
and don’t forget to wash the dishes.
I am from the attitudes, the ridicule, the fights, and the pain.
I am from a family full of tigers
who can swim in the rain.
I’m from the mixed feelings of love then hatred
then hatred and love.
But most of all I’m from family.
A family that I love.