Where I Come From

an eixa  dio kardies  tha sagapw
ekato  fores giati mia kardia pou exw
to sebtha sou dev  andejo

if i had two hearts, i would  love you
one hundred times more and
with the heart that i have
i cannot contain all my love

i come  from…
    olive trees
        planted into the earth
        by weathered hands
        that never learned to write
i come  from
    chins jutted out
    to give directions
    shoulders hunched forward
    against cold Chicago wind
i come  from
    dandelions growing
        underneath train tracks
        next to abandoned buildings
        and pigeon droppings
    dandelions we would eat for dinner
i come from
    corners where hard stones and stares
    mean protection
    defiance from violence
    that threatens our lives
            every day
i come from
    an apartment
    where midnight chorus
    is a call between
    mom and dad's snores
            and farts
    and laughter from us kids
i come from
    sheltered spaces
        in cracks of cement
        next to discarded
        cigarette butts and candy wrappers
i brace myself
    against the urgency
        of the wind
        walls of
            my imagination
    PUSH…
i come from…
    grape leaves on vines
    wrapped around homes and hopes
    fisherwomen
        without front teeth
        and shoes
    sugary smells
        from kitchens
    spaghetti hanging
        on hangers to dry
i come  from
    mom's pats on my back
    rubbing vicks when
        i was sick
14-hour visits to the emergency  room
    for asthma attacks
    where people piled on top each other
    like old coats  at a wedding
i come  from
    buzy streets
    loud with rap music
        motorcycles  hum
        police sirens
        breaking bottles
        moms hollering
            for their children
    echoes of childrens' voices
    lost to the streets
    wanting to come home
i come from
    bunnies being born  
        under rusted car parts
i come from
    men and women hunting wild hens
                    at moonrise
               harvesting grape leaves
                    at sunrise
i come from
    Greeks, Italians, Irish
    who immigrated to this country
    to work in factories for pennies a day
    teeth sucked in disgust
    eyes squinted shut
    against police flashlights and guns
i come from
votes cast in elections
    to stop our oppression
    that never counted
    cemeteries of soldiers
    buried in unmarked graves
i come from a name
    Ourania from my  giagia
i come from a name
    Tserotas meaning coffin maker
i come from
    songs sung by cabbies
        in dark alleys
    love songs, rhembetika
    Greek blues played on
bouzouki and violin
i come from
    cellars where cheese
        hardens and cools
        meats hang
        dried and salted
birthdays, bellies full from
        lamb and potatoes
        galactoburiko
nests feathered
        with plastic fruit
            and doilies
i come from
    101 people killed
       on the main street
       in Sparta, Greece
    when the people decided
    not to let the nazi's pass
    and were killed for it
    a tradition of resistance
    insistence
and persistence
to change
        the ways
    we walk down streets
        with a quickness
        to avoid confrontation
        or have  it
    so that it can be done with…
i come from
    LOUD grammothers
        spirits
    still talking to me
    through fire crackle
    raindrops on rooftops
    imprints of fingerprints
        remembered on my skin
    birth and death
    the rustle of leaves under
        baby's first steps
    screams and sobs
        at funerals
        to ensure pappou's safe passage
I come from
    hollows over cheekbones
    that hold tears
    crooks in elbows
    that cradle newborns
    moments before
       sleep
    when everything
    around us seems
    linked to our past
            and the wisdom
            is in the rhythm
                of falling into
              into its breath.
 
translation  giagia, grandmother     pappou, grandfather
galactobouriko, custard an d phyllo dough dessert.