Where We’re From: A Group Poem by AAPS Students
With contributions by:
Caitlin Dick-Ruíz
Zia Walker
Isaac Semrau
Cameron Russell
Dusk Boyle
Julian Kessenich
Huxley Gill
Clarissa Iorenz
Hayden Matthews-Naumann
Isabella Jacob
Marcel Saintin
and Anonymous
![](https://apisaa.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/image-3-1024x573.png)
As we sit down, new ideas flow through our heads.
We grab our pens and the click, click, click
guides our thoughts
We get our notebooks
and take out the elastic
thwang –
it flies back
opening up to a new blank page
lines waiting to be written on
the swift smooth pen stroke gliding across the paper—
This is where we’re from:
shuffling papers, scribbling pencils.
Grooves worn down, over years of study.
Oxidized metal, and ersatz wood.
Paint rolling down a canvas,
mixing colors on the palette.
The scent of summer: new grass, sunscreen.
Tomatoes: sweet, salty.
The feeling of mud as we fall on our knees.
This is where we’re from:
Up north, to the waves,
Avocados on bread, balconies,
Yellow flowers, water splashing on the rocks,
A soft blue and green tablecloth.
Birds chirping. A lullaby plays.
This is who we are:
Loyal bookworms, members of the AADL royal court.
Caretakers and friends to each other,
Animal Lovers:
our dogs with protruding teeth, hazel eyes,
tiny kittens running,
and their deep hopeful eyes filled with wonder
Music lovers and composers,
Authors, poets, artists, actresses, athletes,
Friends, cousins, students, teachers
Dreamers.
This is who we are.
We look up at the gentle faces
They surround us
How much we do for one another
Home?
What’s the definition, really
A shack; a three-story mansion—
We don’t need either
The world will tell you one thing
But we will tell you this:
We are who we are,
and we don’t need repair
We’re ready for the days ahead.