By, Eli DiPaolo
I am who I am because of…
A house on a side street, a mattress on a floor, daycare from morning to night, cans of spagettios, moving vans, boxes of books, yelling from the restaurant downstairs, a screeching bird, a leaky bathtub, dust falling from my ceiling, sandy pizza, a sister, two houses, one home, one something else, a koi pond in the backyard, the fish are dead, a garden in the backyard, stolen cucumbers, movies on a laptop, a liar, the bird has to go, college is over, read and read some more, new school, new faces, a giant house, seven acers, a big room, purple curtains, possums in the chicken house, blind cats in the lawn, the ducks are gone, neighbors and broken glass, a new tree house, a party, a falling water bottle, water on a girls pants, anger in her eyes, climbing a ladder, dodge the falling table, please not her, running through raspberry bushes, oh God please don’t throw her, I am so sorry, she is okay, crickets in a pizza box, a dark stone room, logging trees, a birds head in the forest, a birds body on the lawn, foxes, hawks, weasels, raccoons, rats, beans cooked over a fire, fishing with no result, keep on reading, court trials, dentist appointments, do you want to go to Costa Rica, shouting over the phone, a half eaten ice cream cake, the sounds of a trombone being played, the view is nice from up here, homeschool, another sister, eggs sizzling in a pan, images of dead bodies, It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, pandemic, deportation, am I happy, staying in my room, silence then music, opera, country, show tunes, rock, indie, back to school, friends for life, or just a year, intro to theater, pack up your books, we need more boxes, welcome to the south, land of sweet tea and Dolly Parton, mold, it was raining, signs to weathered to read, sugar hollow road, in through the front door, a finished basement, watch television while I draw a map, a welcome packet from school, summer days drifting away, the cat cant live here, the mold is bad, twenty minute drive to school with a stop for coffee, loud voices, moldtox, 16 personalities, silence among a crowd of voices, the music stops, it is raining again, my father out the door as I go in, gun in hand, drive away, opened boxes fill a truck, a footprint in the dirt that does not belong to us, a bonfire filled with moldy wood, the floors in our new house, garage doors thrown in the driveway, time to start the repairs, a tent warmed by the summer air, the stars are beautiful from down here, “Sorry can’t come to the phone right now, leave a message after the tone”, alone, walks in the field, walks in the forest, walks on the road, reading is the only thing left, NSDA, Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, Arizona, friendships that last forever, five people cling together in a sea of tears, tv withdrawal, a camper without heating, getting in a suit with dew still clinging to my hair, dropping temperatures, thanksgiving, broken car, bucket shower, walls go up, the smell of a dead snake, an open box of books, architectural drawings, the movement of thousands of bricks from one place to another, they will never be used, a cold stone box, a pipe to the outside, the sounds of birds in the morning, tell your friends, clocks and watches, granite and gold, funny guys and drama queens, ziplines in the mountains, the view is beautiful and cold, tears on a bus, one must leave, highlighted pages of a book, bye bye miss American pie, screams as a partially constructed bed falls to the floor, well we have tv again, people who have learned to go without it, windchimes, a van driving down the highway, three teens singing in the back, Cracker Barrel, a broken down truck, a lack of belongings, a cheery woman on the front porch of a dangerous house, amazing grace how sweet the sound, pickled vegetables and dried beans, ale 8, this is the greatest show, hours of boredom, a spinning wheel, tickets woven together, paycheck in the bank, downloading mp3 file, the conductor lifts his hand as the music starts, frequent phone calls, there is mold here too, orange and black, hot sun beats on my neck causing it to tan, 3 plays, pantaloons and party dresses, a monkey puppet gains a life of its own, a murderous grocer, a normal author, a gnome prince, a band of survivors, hello again, she comes with sweet tea, hugs as tears fall, a house on a mountain, how to tell time.