"Places are People"

"Places are People"

By Dawa Yolmo

Elizabeth Brewster said: “People are made of places,”

I say: “People are made of places and much more”

This is what I am made of,

This is where I am from;

I am from the land of fog and mist, the land where rays of sunshine and dark clouds are in constant battle.

I am the aroma of freshly brewed tea and fragrant rice that fills every kitchen on the arrival of a guest.

I am from the land where silence exhibits power, patience and respect.

I am the long winding roads that spiral and disappear every now and then.

I am from the land where we discuss ‘Karma’, ‘afterlife’ and ‘reincarnation’ just like we discuss weather.

I am the smooth dew drops that embellish every blade of grass in a winter morning.

I am from a land where everyone is a cousin of another.

I am the gurgling creeks and brooks that grow fiercer every time it rains.

This is my land.

The land is me.

‘People are made of places’

‘Places are people.’

Ms. Dawa Lahmu Yolmo is a High School English teacher at Taktse International School, Gangtok, Sikkim, India. Dawa joined the Philadelphia Writing Project in 2016 attending the Invitational Summer Institute.