I Come From

By: Kayla Turner

The Pennington School, 6th Grade

I come from a Jamaican dad.

Whose remedies mend “everything,”

And recipes that have my tastebuds

leaping with joy.

Brown-stew chicken,

Savory and spicy.

The variety of flavors caused me to wander

back

for more,

As I attempt to pick

Tangy specs of ginger out of my,

Small baby teeth.

I come from Detangler Combs

and boar bristle brushes.

Long nights of braiding,

And multi-colored bonnets.

Never able to do the same things with my

hair,

Like other people.

I come from using extra bananas,

To make banana bread,

Whose aroma fills the air as it rises

to a perfectly golden loaf.

The sweetness of the ripe bananas

combined

with savory spices

Create a flavor eruption in every bite.

I come from a field with overgrown grass,

That brushes my ankles with each step I

take.

From falling into the dirt

And reaching back up.

One girl provided support,

My sister, Brianna.

I come from long truck rides,

With my family of five.

Smushed into the backseat, tight,

Like a glove.

Driving until sundown,

No decided destination.

Just the road in front of us.

I come from flowing ink in my veins.

Writing is in my blood.

The melody of my heart,

Captured on paper,

Every single part.

Writing is a passion that can’t be topped.

I come from long summer days at the

beach.

The warm sun beaming on me,

As I walk across the grainy sand,

feeling it shifting in between

each of my chocolate-brown toes.

The sound of waves colliding with jagged

rocks,

Creating a perfect environment of

relaxation.

I come from fighting to the death,

Next to a large powdered, white wig.

Who happens to be George Washington.

Listening to his commands,

Knowing I could be a man down,

Any second.

I come from a man

who’d been forced to fight a battle,

But was never deemed a hero.

At home,

just being celebrated by family,

A voice

never heard.

I come from a family of survivors,

Who persevere through everything,

Who keep living after being pierced in the

heart,

with the sword of life.

That makes me who I am,

Brave, Resilient, and Creative.