I am from the tears of yesterday’s goodbye

Born from the empty promise of tomorrow

I am from the curled stickers on my luggage and the torn pictures on my wall

From fading memories of another's past

I am from the hollow corpse of the abandoned pine tree

Eternally resting in the northern forest behind what used to be home

I am from the muffled giggles of a closed door

And the saddened wave of our final farewell

I am from Everett and Sloan

From another whom I have now forgotten 

I am from bountiful smiles of an abraded childhood

Two wandering paths 

And a legion of lost opportunities

I am from the hardships of war

And the ubiquity of love

From the north and the east

From above and below

I am from the promise of forever

I am from the salty sea and the damp earth

From the whispering air and the raging fire in the kiln

I am from youthful truths and the days of old

I am from mighty kings and lowly peasants

Forged by both death and discovery

I am from privilege

From loss

I am from foreign tongue, lands spilt by a vast sea

I am from familiar trees living in Earth

Residing in roots beneath our feet

I am from curiosity and bravery

From cowardice and defeat

I am birthed from the split roads of the unknown future

On a path to find myself for who I am 

I am from knowledge

From rebellion
From truth

I am.