Where I'm From

Wilton, Connecticut

Where I’m from, loose Catholicism is in.

There are churches, of course,

and if you ask around

most will probably say they’re Roman Catholics

of course

but no one really goes to them.

Besides, why go to church

when you’ve got a lacrosse game to make?

Where I’m from, nearly everyone is the same.

You’ve got to wade through crowds of people

who dress, walk, talk, and act the same way

and who all choose to wear the same masks

before you can find one person

who dares to be different.

Or--here’s the scary part--even wants to be.

Where I’m from, it’s beautiful.

Quiet, serene trees

only making noise when they rustle

soothingly in the wind

surround nearly every home

even the apartment buildings.

Daffodils and cherry blossoms bloom

in the spring

and in the fall, nearly everywhere you look

is golden or orange or red.

The roads are peaceful,

and few motorcyclists

disturb the quiet of the residential streets

(and might face a lawsuit if they dared to).

Where I’m from, nearly everyone’s father

has a big, important job in New York City.

All the people’s egos are inflated

with a sense of false self-importance

because of our supposed closeness

to one of the most famous cities in the world.

Where I’m from, people are quietly ignorant.

They speak of their Blue-Ribbon schools

and their expensive curriculums

with a sense of superiority

that doesn’t even stop to consider those

who aren’t so fortunate as to attend such programs.

They say things like, “Stops and frisks shouldn’t be a problem

if you have nothing to hide.”

Parents are frequently heard complaining about Affirmative Action

because their kids would have much less difficulty getting into college

without all of those annoying laws

that promote “equality of education for all.”

What an idiotic concept--right?

They speak of drug and alcohol abuse

as if it’s a far-away issue, an inner-city issue,

something that their own children would never

even come close to.

Everyone looks the other way

when the entire rowing team is caught with marijuana in their systems

and a heroin needle is found in the high school

and they conveniently forget that it’s the suburban towns

like us

“the safest place to raise your kids”

not the bigger cities

that have the highest rates of alcohol-related adolescent deaths.

Where I’m from, I’m Charlotte,

who used to be just like us, but then turned a little

how I shall say it

queer?

And not that there’s anything wrong with that

I’m just saying, that’s all.  

Really.

Where I’m from, the birds sing at 5 a.m.

and the sunlight filters through the leaves

creating a soft array of colors

that steal your breath away

and bring you to the verge of tears

What does it mean to both love

and hate?