A Vagabond
By Malakhi Tanner, 17, Michigan
I come from large airport terminals
And loud intercoms.
I come from the clanging of suitcases
And cacophonies.
I come from counting highway exits
And cramped leg spaces.
I’m from “just appreciate the places”
And foreign voices.
I come from kids’ sketchy playgrounds
And climbing trees.
I come from the store were we bought ‘çörək’
And the old shoe guy.
I come from the Legos I built up
And boxcar children.
I’m from suddenly needing to pack
And the sad gray sky.
Then I came from the calescent sun
And hot beaches.
I came from the delicious paella
And red mangoes.
I came from whispering forests of green
And lands of brown.
I’m from the loquacious joys of friends
And my youth group.
But now I’m from “The Land of the Free,”
My parents’ home.
I come from the obnoxious media
And blank faces.
From the individualism
And ambitions.
I’m from the rambling of politics
And much driving.
This is an autobiography in poem form which is a lot easier to do than writing a 400 page book. It explains my movement geographically and personally as a third-culture kid.
