2025/Gwendolyn -

I am from The Last Frontier

From crimson fireweed and cerulean forget-me-nots

I am from the fluffy white crystals under the steep white peaks

It smelled like silver, sparkling snow

I am from fresh vermillion salmon,

The feeling of a beautiful breeze

Whose viridescent aurora I remember

As if they were my own

I am from The Battlefield of Europe and the Magnolia State,

From fiery red kimchi and wild blackberries

I am from the dry polluted air

And the tall rising towers

From “Wake up!” and “Worry about yourself!”

I am from the electric lemonade

With dirt, mud, and “soup”

And ten raunchy concoctions I can make myself.

I am from the color purple and the warm gold rain,

Adventuring and sword fighting

From the sunny sky lost to the clouds

To the friends who used to keep me bursting with laughter

Under my bed was a smooth wood box spilling rocks and notes

A collection of special treasures

To drift beneath my dreams.

I am from those moments.

Those daydreams before I blinked again

I am a seed departing from the dandelion.

- Inspired by George Ella Lyon