formerly Diane's Addled Ramblings... the ramblings are still addled, just like before, and the URL is still the same...
it's just the title at the top of the page that's new

Monday, March 2, 2009

I Am... 10/28/08

This remains one of my favorite old posts...

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During my regular early-morning, random blog stalk, I came across a post I really loved, generated from a writing prompt. Though I copied the directions for the prompt, I (stupidly) neglected to bookmark the page (and of course I can’t find it again). As such, I can’t give credit to the blogger. So if you happen upon this post and know where the prompt came from, please let me know! Thanks!

Tell us who you are, what’s inside, where you’re from. Share your memory fragments, those visions in your head, those figments that make you, you. What bits and pieces formed your whole? Are you whole? Tell us.

I am from pull yourself up by your own bootstraps.
... from porch swings on muggy summer evenings.
... from Jiffy Pop popcorn and toasted marshmallows.
... from bagpipes and 'Billy Don't Be a Hero'.
... from unlocked doors and good neighbors.

I am from hard work never hurt anybody.
... from soldiers and patriots.
... from swings and see-saws and skinned knees.
... from narrow-minded viewpoints and broad horizons.
... from firefly lanterns and rain on a tin roof.

I am from stop crying or I'll give you something to cry about.
... from stand up for what you believe in.
... from Red Rover and tag, hide-and-seek and kick-the-can.
... from musty libraries on rainy afternoons.
... from hand-knitted sweaters and penny loafers.

I am from money doesn’t grow on trees.
... from beer and smoky barrooms and weekend-long cookouts.
... from dreamers and from grounded in reality.
... from do as I say, not as I do.
... from stray dogs and stray people.

I am from campgrounds, mountain lakes, and battlefields.
... from faith and faithlessness.
... from betrayal and loss and great pain... and from great love.
... from strong men, resilient women, and funny, funny people.
... from lost… and found… and lost again.

I am from still searching for home... still searching for me.

12 comments:

Heather said...

I love this one just as much now as I did the first time I read it. :)

blognut said...

Oh Lord in Heaven above! I wrote one of these that'll never see my blog, but I'm cracking up because I wrote it in the same format. I really have to get you out of my head.

That said - I love your I am... and I hope you find you soon. Although, I'm not sure if we ever really know when we have (found ourselves). There's always something more we're looking for and I think sometimes we don't realize that we're there until we learn to sit quietly right where we are. You know?

namaste said...

Love it...!

My favorite is:

I am from still searching for home... still searching for me.

Anonymous said...

We've roamed some of the same avenues I see :)

"I am from stop crying or I'll give you something to cry about.
... from stand up for what you believe in.
... from Red Rover and tag, hide-and-seek and kick-the-can.
... from musty libraries on rainy afternoons.
... from hand-knitted sweaters and penny loafers."

You truly took me back!

Sometimes Sophia said...

A very touching post... so honest and you, my dear.

Michelle said...

http://collectionofpoetry.blogspot.com

Theres one here too...she might know.

We must have come from similar places

Amy McMean said...

I really enjoyed this post. makes me think about where i come from.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful.

We have so very much in common.

I need to let you do my writing. You articulate my own thoughts so very well. What is your secret for writing down what is rolling around in others' heads?

I think most famous writers have this gift....hmmmm

J Cosmo Newbery said...

I can see why it is a favourite.

Notes on a Serviette

A Woman Of No Importance said...

Very touching, very true - I am from Billy don't be a hero - All so beautifully evocative, Diane! xxx

A Woman Of No Importance said...

Diane, I cannot do as well as you have done, or say what you have said, but you have inspired me, and I shall use your explanation to blog about this tomorrow, if that is all right by you, please...

You have brought tears to my eyes, with the memories, that I so often keep locked up, darling! x

Live More Now said...

I really love this post.