Where Am I From? - The Chicago Poetry Center

Where Am I From?

Me personally, I’m from Cleveland. I didn’t grow up too dissimilar from a lot of the kids at TEAM Englewood. I have seen my fair share of crime and know all about the struggle. By writing about where we are from, whatever that means to us, culturally, regionally, school wise, family wise, it gives us a chance to acknowledge and embrace those things that make us individuals. Sometimes we don’t even think about our neighborhoods or backgrounds until we go to put it on paper.

This week we went over an amended version of the poem “Where I’m From,” by Willie Perdomo. The poem is taught a lot and gives young people an entry way into poetry, that isn’t your traditional verse. While talking about the content of this poem we also discussed, leaping, stanzas and lines. Everyone seemed to really pick up on “leaping” or “turning” as it’s sometimes called. Which was good, because that frees us up to write more freely and without always thinking about narrative. We didn’t get to finish writing in Ms. Payne’s class this week, some said they were going to work on their poems and bring them back, but check out some of the work from Ms. Henley’s classes.

9th Grade (6th Period) 9th Grade (6th Period)

Untitled by Kiara D.

I hear police, I feel basketball
I taste pizza, I smell steak
I smell steak, I hear gunshots
I see kids, I hear music
I taste honey, I hear cats
I see dogs, I smell mac n cheese
I hear birds.

Where I'm from by Dymond W.

Dymond W.
Where I’m from I see drug dealer.
Where I’m from I see people
who don’t care about nobody
but themselves.
Where I’m from I hear cursing and slang.
Guys who think life is a game.
Where I’m from I see me walking
down the street and getting shot.
Where I’m from I feel that life
for me is already over.
Where I’m from I can already see
that there is no one who’s gonna make it.
Where I’m from…
Where I’m from
Nobody wants
to know where
I’m from.

9th Grade (7th Period) 9th Grade (7th Period)

Where I'm From by Erick J.

I see the cars
and the animals
I smell BBQ
I hear dog’s
trains and cars
I feel heat
cold and air.
Where I’m From

Where I'm From by Aleara S.

Where I’m from people always describe
as bad but after I finish you may wanna visit.
So where I’m from you see killing, fighting,
and violence but not all the time.
Where I’m from you hear gun shots, rap music,
loud music and yelling, but that’s how some
communicate and understand each other.
Where I’m from there’s no doubt that
you won’t see a Walmart, Popeye’s
or McDonalds some of the most visited places.