Comin From Where I'm From

I’m “comin’ from where I’m from, I’m from”
I’m from suburban parks and bike rides to friend houses to play Nintendo,
I’m from city blocks that are becoming more urban
I’m from neighborhood parks
I’m from a dead end street that ends in opportunity
I’m from where black and white all have houses with nice yards but are still divided by railroad tracks
I’m from where an interracial couple is not odd
I’m from one high school
I’m from two middle schools
I’m from where all schools hold students and teachers to the highest academic standards
I’m from turnpike exits and Hebrew schools
I’m from where having two cars and a three bedroom house still means hiding from the sheriff when the mortgage payment is late
I’m from big business and trips to the big city
I’m from the silhouette of the empire state and the statue of liberty
I’m from Laundromats and main streets
I’m from corner delis with 10 cent candies
I’m from pizza for $1.25 a slice
I’m from a plain bagel with schmear or locks
I’m from come on mom, spaghetti again
I’m from Tahitian treat and government cheese on toast bubbilin’
I’m from trips down south to grandma’s house for fried chicken and collard greens
I’m from sittin’ on the front porch with country cousin’s playin’ I got that car
I’m from summertime ending and headed home
I’m from two black parents
I’m from Fredrick Douglas and Sojourner Truth
I’m from Booker T. Washington and Harriet Tubman
I’m from playing little league in 1985
I’m from a basement full of mugs and coasters, holding black faces and titled “the Black Heroes of the Bicentennial” that dad could sell in 1976
I’m from hidding behind the coach when mom and dad argue
I’m from weekend visits with dad and meeting his new girlfriend
I’m from working summers with dad at his office
I’m from moving around town and out town and back to town
I’m from the Ivy League
I’m from a corner in Southside of Chicago where one of the locals asks me “what you claiming?” because of how I where my hat
I’m from education and introspection,
I’m from a birth in the garden,
I’m from a deceptive serpent,
I’m from generation after generation of profit begging me to repent,
I’m from the great redeemer
I’m from crucifixion,
I’m from resurrection
I’m from faith hope and love,
I’m from the I am the great I am
I’m from realizing that I am from GOD
And now you know that “I’m comin’ from where I’m from, I’m from”

Faith, Hope & Love

CA