Poetry by yours truly

At the end of my multiculturalism class I had to write a cultural autobiography which included an artistic representation. Since I'm not terribly artistic I opted for a poem which is hilarious considering I have never understood poetry. Maybe it should just be called a writing. Yeah, I'm much more comfortable with that.

A writing by Meg:

I come from a place of “ya’ll” “ain’t” and sometimes even “how’s ya mommy and them”

I come from a place of culture, music, rhythm and roots

I come from a place of pride, hard work, family ties and simple living

But I also come from a place that promotes intolerance

A place that tells racist jokes with little concern

A place that believes a woman’s place is in the kitchen

A place that would not permit acceptance to those who are “different”

Because in this place, that I came from different =wrong

Be it in race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, SES, or physical ability

I am proud of my roots but I don’t want there to be a part of it I’m ashamed of

I want to come from a place of love

I want to come from a place of acceptance

I want to come from a place of cultural awareness, openness, and exploration

I want to come from a place of equality 

I want to come from a place of different=opportunity to learn and grow

I want to come from a place of growth, change and awareness

And I want the stagnation, negativity and judgment of my culture to be washed away

I vow to raise awareness

I vow to show acceptance

And I vow to preach equality to this culture that I love so much

Because the Appalachian culture deserves this

My culture is too rich to be defined by their hatefulness and intolerance

It deserves to be defined by it’s positive qualities