I Am From

I am from&nbsp;old books stacked somewhere, gathering dust&nbsp; From tracing every face, every name, every photo, every memory&nbsp; And from the hope that one day you’ll see them again&nbsp;

I am from chilled salt water and blaring suns&nbsp; From crashing, crumbling waves with the caw, caw cawing of gulls, never far away&nbsp; And from large lush, green backyards and magpies, polka dotted with white like a picnic blanket&nbsp;

I am from hot cups of tea before&nbsp;dinner with every sip burning my tongue and planting a fire in my stomach&nbsp; From rushing to buses, into school and back home in hope to get the most warmth as possible&nbsp; And from hanging out in swimming pools all the time&nbsp;&nbsp;

I&nbsp;am from soft thump, thump, thumping&nbsp;of shoes on the cold pavement and fading leaves&nbsp; From 30 seconds of jumping on the trampoline outside and smiling at the sight of your dragon’s breath in the cold moveless air&nbsp; And from&nbsp;layer upon layers of thick clothing and hands in gloves in pockets&nbsp;and yet still rosy cheeked and about to get frost bite&nbsp;

I am from tight wetsuits, suctioned to my body&nbsp; From tanned skin and my cousin’s deep ginger hair&nbsp; And from no Wi-Fi beach houses, with water tanks and 10 channel TVs&nbsp;

I am from large piles of raked blushing leaves&nbsp; From shivering in thin jackets and tracksuit pants&nbsp; And from soft wind, almost like my sister blowing in my ears&nbsp;

I am from stinky, falling&nbsp;ginkgo&nbsp;berries that&nbsp;puncture the air&nbsp; From large, plump, juicy peaches, cherries, blueberries and strawberries&nbsp; And from the last few weeks of school&nbsp;

I am from&nbsp;summer&nbsp;indoors&nbsp;all the time&nbsp; From warm drinks and food&nbsp; And from hands too close to heaters and the whine of “turn up the heat!”&nbsp;

I am from tears of sadness, of joy and of pride welling in your eyes&nbsp; From “goodbye!”, “Visit us!”, “Don’t go!” and “Text me!”, waves and hugs and high fives&nbsp; And from 2 bags, three bags worth of work, books and paper hearing a loud thud! of the bin&nbsp; And from glaring at your&nbsp;device for a sign of contact&nbsp;every second&nbsp;

I am from&nbsp;pretty, playfully pink&nbsp;cherry blossoms blooming and the “achoo!”s&nbsp;of&nbsp;people&nbsp;with red noses&nbsp; From sticky delicious&nbsp;home-made&nbsp;lemon butter that sings&nbsp;hymns in your mouths&nbsp; And from&nbsp;“Let’s go, team!’ and “a new PB!” during every race or swim meet&nbsp;

Name

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