Donovan-Osan Middle High School-Osan, South Korea

I am from peaches,

From pecans and peanuts.

I am from the storage boxes under the bed

It smelled like sadness.

I am from rosa laevigata,

The green lizards whose long limbs I remember

As if they were my own.

I am from cherry blossoms and the Capitol,

From Career Counselor and Logistics.

I am from critique

And the caring,

From “Don't make me come in!” and “Good job!”

I am from baseball

With a double play

and ten home runs I can do myself.

I am from wads of bubble gum and sunflower seeds,

Fishing and reels.

From the friends lost to the PCS

To the lobster tails used to keep me amused.

Under my bed was a purple backpack spilling baseballs,

A vision of home runs

To drift beneath my dreams.

I am from those moments -

Sadness before happiness.

I am a dandelion growing from the family tree.