Images: Vassar College
A Publication of the ALANA Center
Where I'm From
By Justin Chay '10
Edge of the World, by Noah Erkes ‘09
I’m from the azure sky,
Peaceful streets of lonely trees
The cool breeze of southern air,
A radiant house of white
Floating boat trips near Long Bay
Clear-as-crystal water
That licked gently at my feet
Calm waves that smoothed imprints on the sand
The mud castles and wet wooden decks,
Chicken barbeques and wood smoke rising to the sky,
Veggie pies and smoked tuna
Weird grins, water bomb fights.
Huge bowls of rice from grandma
(The ones I never finish)
I am from the City of Sails,
Yacht races under a swift wind
And a benevolent sun.
The brain smashing puzzlers
Of disappearing boxes and elusive answers
Exploding questions and philosophies
I’m from one-hour traffic jams
Neon lights of the crowded city
Buildings that reached for the stars
Native forests
Of Maupo and Matipi.
Spirits of the tikitikis,
The curling ferns shining
With morning dew.
Seeping dampness from the
Jewels of the sky.
I am from the
‘Premium Artistic Series LX40’ computer,
Long emails and interrupted MSN chats
Games like Baldur’s Gate II and Myst IV: Revelation.
I am from the comfy library chair,
Greek myth, epic, endless fantasy
Mystic Egyptian tales and Old Norse heroes.
The smell of old books thick upon the air.
I am from the blue carpet floor
Dice and chequered boards
Black Chess pieces of pure Rimu wood.
I am from outings at Sinchon
(When I actually did sing)
Playstation rooms where I fought and lost
(Ice cream consumed at negative 10 degrees temperature)
Cigarette smoke and galbi sticking to clothes
Exotic holidays all over the world
Cultural music and colors flowing in the air
Friends I had to leave, stories put behind,
Incomplete lives that would have been.
I am from a boundless world
Of change.