Where I Come From

Oct 31

Posted by

I come from a long line of dysfunction

I come from far too frequent tragedy

I come from a lack of affection

I come from a hard scrabble bunch

I come from places of anger

I come from familial subterfuge

I come from brazen theft

I come from ignorant hatred

I come from narcissism

I come from the better than thou

I come from a place of buried feelings

I come from a place I mostly hate

I come from a place to which

I choose not to return

——————————————————–—————

My Facebook Page — My Twitter Account

About John White

I've written off and on my entire life. It took years for me to finally take putting words together seriously. Now it's not, nor does it ever feel, like work. Writing daily has become habitual. No day is complete without words having appeared on the page.

Posted on October 31, 2015, in Poetry and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink. 83 Comments.

  2. theshe519119 | October 31, 2015 at 12:28 pm

    my life put in words no better than I could

    Reply
  4. hasmeetwrites | October 31, 2015 at 12:41 pm

    I see something fishy John! The theme is very dark like most of your recent poems!

    Reply
    • John White | October 31, 2015 at 1:13 pm

      Thank you, Hasmeet! 🙂 There have been some recent events to motivate a few of my posts while others were written a while back. I tend to write based on mood and use anything going on in my life or around me to come up with ideas. This one…well it’s dark thanks to one side of my family. Luckily, the other side of the family is pretty close and loving. Thank goodness! 😉

      Reply
  6. Karen Stephen | October 31, 2015 at 1:15 pm

    Did you grow up in my house? That environment in spite of what it lacks sure spawns gifted writers.

    Reply
    • John White | October 31, 2015 at 1:19 pm

      Thank you, Karen! 🙂 I suppose it’s possible I grew up just down the street. 😉 We had a split really. One of my parents (not to mention which one) has a great family that’s very loving and the other has a family that snipes and argues with each other so much I would swear they hate each other.

      Reply
  7. Kricket | October 31, 2015 at 1:25 pm

    My current life! Double likes

    Reply
  8. Rita | October 31, 2015 at 1:38 pm

    Are we siblings?

    Reply
  9. Bushka | October 31, 2015 at 1:45 pm

    Hope fully, we can all relate to this powerful piece…especially the final line.

    Reply
  10. Carrie Birde | October 31, 2015 at 1:56 pm

    Clear-eyed poetic statement that honors past truths and chooses a new way. You are not alone. 🙂

    Reply
  11. amagove | October 31, 2015 at 1:56 pm

    Relating…….beautifully written

    Reply
  13. KP | October 31, 2015 at 3:47 pm

    This is powerful and so true. It all comes down to which path we choose. I needed this reinforcement. Thank you

    Reply
  14. Hanne T. Fisker | October 31, 2015 at 4:10 pm

    What “you” come from might not necessarily be who “you” are… perhaps?

    Reply
  15. nananoyz | October 31, 2015 at 4:17 pm

    I recognize these places.

    Reply
  16. A @ moylomenterprises | October 31, 2015 at 10:21 pm

    I’m with you on that one.
    I left home at 19 and haven’t returned since. Have no idea if I ever will, but the very thought conjures up so many bad memories and feelings I can’t fathom it. Perhaps one day but not now… Not yet!

    Reply
  18. MjBee | November 1, 2015 at 2:12 am

    I just moved back into the family environment after a break up. Im trying to deal with a chronic illness and its hard, because my family are not particularly supportive. Its hard.

    Reply
    • John White | November 2, 2015 at 11:37 am

      Thank you! 🙂 Those situations can be made even more difficult with family issues. I can certainly relate and sympathize with what you’re going through. Hope all is well. It’s great to meet you!

      Reply
  21. Nitin | November 1, 2015 at 4:45 am

    we all have some past where we dread going back, never return, never relive… very simply you touched cords i think many would relate… great share… 🙂

    Reply
  22. Cynthia Crockett | November 1, 2015 at 11:08 am

    Just as long as you keep your self and your children in the right places it will not be like you said some people like the way they were raised and not try to do anything about it but I know that you can, we all have had some type of dysfunction in our lives and family its just that if you want to overcome it you have to do what you need to do for all of your children . Plus your life also. keep it going strong my girl.

    Reply
    • John White | November 2, 2015 at 11:40 am

      Thank you, Cynthia! 🙂 I was raised a family that, on one side, was loving and caring while on the other side there were cold, affectionless family members. It was a strange combination. All of that made me who I am – a moody, happy, slightly ill-content. 😉 It’s great to meet you!

      Reply
  23. magarisa | November 1, 2015 at 2:10 pm

    Enjoyed this. A great reminder that even though we cannot change the past, we always have the choice to let go of it and create a better future.

    Reply
  24. uriahheep111 | November 1, 2015 at 10:03 pm

    There is hope in all this darkness; you “mostly” hate where you’re from 🙂 So there is still a ray of light there.

    Reply
    • John White | November 2, 2015 at 12:02 pm

      Thank you! 🙂 There’s always hope as long as we keep fighting and trying. This piece is mostly about that one side of the family – though the other side had its share of dysfunction, they didn’t hold a candle to how badly screwed up the other side was/is. But…always a ray of light…somewhere. 🙂

      Reply
  25. ninefolddragon | November 3, 2015 at 3:33 pm

    I really appreciate how vulnerable this piece is. I’d really like to see where you are going now that we know where you’ve come from.

    Reply
  26. intrepidmuses | November 4, 2015 at 7:31 pm

    Love the last line!!! We all are broken in some ways or another but we can choose to work on our own broken! Great poem. 🙂

    Reply
  27. heavenlyberry24 | November 6, 2015 at 12:03 am

    i coome from the same place , beautiful poem, keep inspiring

    Reply
  28. JoHanna Massey | November 9, 2015 at 11:47 am

    Indeed. Thank you for summing that up so succinctly!

    Reply

  1. Pingback: Where I Come From | I didn't know I'd be a stay at home mom

Leave a reply to theshe519119 Cancel reply