Where Am I From?

I am from compact disks, Panasonic and Memorex,

I am from insurmountably disorganized, shuffled things,

(Loose, jumbled, they appeared like lost children searching for temporarily absent mothers).

I am from the disheveled flowers barley kept alive by my mother's hand,

The gargantuan oak centered in Todd Grove Park that offered its limbs to countless residents,

From the salty air I can taste as my stepfather, brother, and I probe the ocean for members of its aquatic community

I am from Gramma Connie's tamales Navidades (Christmas tamales) and perpetual bickering,

From Rolando and Ryan "Bazooka Tooth" Oliverez,

I'm from the BE NEAT's and ARE YOU STUPID's?!,

From Turn it down and you're really not that good,

I'm from the Bible I never opened until I was in seventh grade and then read in its entirety if only to set out to scoff at in its entirety ,

From the baptism in Christ's name I received only a short while ago without my family's knowledge despite my former hesitancy, heresy, and hypocrisy

I'm from Chicago, but half my blood is from the Southland,

From my step-fathers famous pot roast to my fathers famous fidello,

From the pain my mother felt, synonymous with the neglect of her father she often mentioned,

From my uncle Roli's renowned stubbornness,

I am from glimpses and memories,

Fabled family felonies,

Locked in boxes, minds, and holes for foxes,

Unperturbed, undisturbed held by those who don’t deserve,

The sheer weight and worth that go with such responsibility.

-yea, I'm a Mexican, or at the very least a "half beaner" as Carlos Mencia would say.