The Moments That Created Me

I am from a doll

from Beethoven and grits

I am from the boards that make the back porch

and the wood in the fireplace

I am from the oak tree in my backyard

whose leaves dance in the wind

I am from pecan candy and eyeglasses

from Morris and Laws

I am from the humorous and the serious

and from the loud and soft spoken

I am from God fearing

I am from Ella Severson and Mattie Clyde Dawsey

from collard greens and cabbage

from the separate bathrooms my great grandmother Mattie had to use

and from the cotton my great grandmother Ella had to pick

I am from a carousel

I am from those moments that created me