Reflections of Home: Where I Come From Poems

“Home is a name, a word, it is a strong one; stronger than magician ever spoke, or spirit ever answered to, in the strongest conjuration.” – Charles Dickens

The Alzar School hosts students from around the country and the world. To date, we’ve had students come from thirty-five states and six countries. Some hail from rural mountains and some from urban jungles. Some join their semester having had weeks of outdoor experience while others arrive with none.  

Throughout the semester, students are challenged to think about who they are, where they come from and what experiences have shaped their character. As students ponder these ecocentric ideas, they are encouraged to manifest them through an Alzar School English assignment called “Where I Come From.”

Jacob from Atlanta writes:

A quaint house in a little neighborhood.

Asphalt hot underneath the summer sun.

Roads surrounded by oak trees and pinewood.

This is where I’m able to climb and run.

 

Cute puppy pestering mom day and night,

With a little nap time squeezed in halfway.

A dog’s tongue waking me up with a fright.

Emory, she knows how to start my day.

 

The melodious sound of piano,

A Billy Joel song filling the dense air.

At the pearl white keys putting on a show

My brother determined, up off the chair.

 

Through our joy over tacos, pain, and jeers.

I know I’ll always have my home, all years.

While Richard reflects upon his home in Asheville:

 

I am from where the mountains touch the sky,

And in those mountains life itself resides.

Beckoning me to not settle for a normal Wednesday afternoon, but rather hike to a view.

I sit on top of a hill and look out over the canopy

Red and orange leaves cover the trees

like tinfoil over a platter of food.

When I drive down Kimberly,

Those same leaves challenge me to not sit around at home, but to go kayaking in a beautiful place….

This assignment draws attention to (and hopefully an appreciation of) the power of home. Listening to each other’s perception of place, helps students realize both their similarities and differences and gain a deeper understanding of their peers. Through this understanding, we form a community at the Alzar School. With hope, students emerge from their Alzar School experience knowing more of who they are, and from there, can work to shape who they want to be.