I am from nowhere.

I am from Ramen noodles and sink water.

I am from third floor apartments, bulletproof windows, and police sirens. 

I am from card games & strong women with thick thighs and even thicker hearts, from Athena, Aphrodite, and the most powerful Goddess of all, My Grandmother. 

I am from laughter and making do with what we have. 

I am from never being “in grown people business” & being home before the streetlights came on.

I am from Hallelujahs, dress socks, and prayer. 

I am from the cold streets of New York, even colder attitudes, bacon egg & cheese, and Arizona teas. 

I am from annual vacations and monthly funerals, from concrete jungles with beasts more viscous than the last. I’m from train stations and bus stops, Yankee brims and air so cold it makes your hands lock.

 I am from nowhere.