where

for my world lit class, our last assignment is to write a creative imitation of a poem we've read in class. this is fun for me. this is my first draft. i'm not sure i will change anything. 

where

i am from university, cajun

from married housing, young mother.

from late-night neighbors

and pine-needle sledding.

i am from yellow water,

from dozens of cavities:

    i do remember the day 

   the bath water was clear.

i am from grandparents,

back porch basketball,

“fishing” from the deck:

from always hooking something

that could bring a giggle.

from cul-de-sac 

bikes and trampolines

   “DON’T CRACK THE EGG!”

backflips, catch

i am from calvary

from hymns and sunday school

summer weeks and winter nights

from gathering

   fellowship

prayer and potluck 

i am from metal buildings

geometry, history

i am from weekends away

teammates and dinners and medals 

from competition and skill

   “perfect practice makes perfect”

i am from long-awaited phone calls

overdue visits; wondering

from the distance of one father

from the forced(?) closeness of another

from where is he?

or, where am i?

what am i doing

i am from dark nights

long weeks

   questions

but i am also from joyful days

seasons

   answers

i am from prayers

from disciples; learned

i am from broken relationships

and restored ones

i am from tears on a pillow

laughing in the aftermath

from salvation 

i am going, 

   i can imagine

to the unknown

i am going to a house

to a life on the road

i am going back to swing sets, 

to sandboxes, slides

to people

   languages; barriers

i am going into the world

to know its inhabitants

   (there are almost 7 billion)

going to a mountain:

snow-capped, sub-zero 

going to a jungle:

infinite, miles, wet

i am going to love

to hope; to peace;

to unrest

   probably not in that order

i am going to live 

dgroup.

as you may know, i will be spending nine weeks of my summer living in Destin, Florida, with 150 other students from the University of Arkansas. i will be living with 7 other girls, 3 of whom will make up my "d-group." tonight i found out who those three girls are.

i can honestly say i could not be more excited about the opportunity i have to get to know these girls better and grow with them. i am nervous and scared about living with people and spending so much time with the same people, but i know--absolutely, without a doubt, 100% know--that it is going to be perfect.

we leave in 25 days. twenty. five. days.

it's unreal.

and, as i look at my goals for this summer. they all come back to one central theme. this world does not have what i need.

you can have all this world, but give me Jesus.