Where I am from

Where I am from

Poem by Christine Tran.

Text:

"Where are you from?"

LA—El Ay—Los Ángeles—Los

 
"No, where are you really from?"

I am from east of East LA, where urban meets suburban

I am from the sweat of brows in sweatshops and on construction sites

I am from roosters crowing in the morning

I am from the bright pink dragon fruit/thanh long/pitaya that grows in the yard

I am from VHS tapes at the local library on Central and Santa Anita

I am from karaoke LaserDiscs purchased in Little Sài Gòn

I am from Saturday morning cartoons, I Love Lucy , and KCET via TV rabbit ears (pre-YouTube)

I am from the Huntington Library when the cost of admission was per car, not per person 

I am from bright blue bubble gum ice cream at Clark's Drugs

I am from bowls of phở, (pre- and post-Jonathan Gold reviews)

I am from Cup O' Noodles con limón with a bag of hot Cheetos con limón

I am from Sriracha when it was made in Rosemead (pre-hipsters)

I am from Swamp Meet haggles—“2 for $5? How about 2 for $4?”

I am from shopping at Fedco, Newberry, and Montgomery Ward (before Target and Amazon)

I am from Chinatown trips for 50 lbs. rice bags, bottles of nước mắm, and back-to-school clothes

I am from newspaper print PennySavers, before craigslist and eBay
 

I am from cubed turkey and mashed potato days at school, a favorite of the free lunches

I am from TV tapings as school fundraisers, the perks of living near Hollywood

I am from FBLA club meetings that taught me public speaking and parliamentary procedures

I am from that one 8th grade fieldtrip to UCLA that inspired me to move west, later across the country


I am from indigenous lands turned ranch, farms, suburbia, working class community, now gentrifying

I am from refugees who escaped war and poverty in search for new beginnings

I am from immigrants that make America great, again, and again

I am from a diaspora of scholars and activists in search for old and new Memories of (South) El Monte

Tran, Christine