2024/Sonia -

I am From the Land of Fragrant Apple Orchards

from Wenatchee Valley and The Evergreen State.

I am from Sports Paradise under the temperate rainforest,

gripping arts, and culture it tasted like Starbucks Coffee.

I am from Mount Rainier

the Pacific Rhododendron

whose fragrance I remember

as if they were my own.

I’m from the Woodland Park Zoo and the Olympic National Park,

from Palouse Falls and cozy winter getaways.

I’m from the motto of “Hope for the Future”

and the flag of the American President

From the wilderness coast under the American Goldfinch eye!

I’m from ebony and ivory

with a damper

And ten selections I can play myself.

I’m from the only green state flag and

The home to 300 colleges,

The 42nd state and connecting ferries.

From the Cougar football lost

to the Cardinals,

used to keep me intense.

Under my bed was a vase full of dandelions

spilling purple pedals,

A bright light

as bright as me

to drift beneath my dreams.

I am from those moments -

think before I act and work before I play-

as another pedal falls from the crimson roses.