POETRY 2024: Where I'm from by Sheila Smith Evans

Where I'm fromby Sheila Smith Evans I’m from a Southern backyard —Magnolia grandiflora sporting huge white bloomsHoneysuckles spilling over the fenceRed roses soaked with the aroma of teaHollyhocks springing up yearly into flowering towersMud pies made beneath a magnificent pin oak treeMint leaves mysteriously exploding with flavorMilk pods being tasted unknowing they were poisonous. I’m from a Southern backyard —Bedroom window we escaped to crawl space doorTo meet our coonhound and to play in the moonlight.Bedroom window we each escaped separatelyOut into moonlit streets until return by kind policemen. I’m from a Southern backyard —Concrete foundation swirls scarily like a gorilla’s faceWooden swing where we watched mad Mommy fleeingCrawl space hound’s howls after Daddy’s death. I’m from a Southern backyard —From which Mommy returned to hospital after funeralFrom which we left with barely known Northern kinfolkTo which others came to live in the bounty of its beauty.Our theme song is courtesy of singer-songwriter Brittney Wagner. Stream her record Better off Dead here. Support the showThank you for listening to The Mountain-Ear Podcast, featuring news and culture from peak to peak! Additional pages are linked below.If you want to be involved in the podcast or paper, contact:Barbara Hardt, our editor-in-chief, at [email protected] Hickman, multimedia producer, at [email protected] Lammers, podcast host, at [email protected] inquiries: [email protected] to our website for all of the latest news. Subscribe to The Mountain-Ear in print and online.Submit local events to promote them in the paper and on our website.Find us on Facebook @mtnear and Instagram @mtn.earListen and watch on YouTube today.Share this podcast by scrolling to the bottom of our website home page or by heading to our main hub on Buzzsprout.Thank you for listening!