Meet Author Janet Smart---I Am From Appalachia

Several months ago my friend and published author of 31 books, Marilyn Donahue, graciously permitted me to present her wonderful post on the "I Am From..." poetic form.

I asked my readers to get the creative juices flowing and try the "I Am From..." Well, my blogging friend, Janet Smart, did just that. Boy, did she do it!
Janet gave me permission to post her beautiful piece.

Here's a little info about Janet---She writes from her home in Ripley, West Virginia and is an active member of the WVWriters. One of her Christmas stories was recently published in a book titled Christmas Traditions. Janet writes a children's column for the regional magazine, Two-Lane Livin'. She's working hard to have her first picture book published. Janet loves children's books, she studies hard, and she's not a quitter. Expect to see a picture book with her name on it one of these days (o;

Here's Janet---


I Am From Appalachia


I am from Appalachia
From hills and hollers
And grandma’s front porch
With quilt covered gliders
Cotton soft and squeaky.

I am from dirt roads
Rutted from cars
That rumble past and
Leave billowing clouds of dust
To scatter in the breeze.

I am from summer vegetable gardens
Plowed in early spring
With Uncle Romey’s horses,
Whose long manes and straight rows
Flowed behind them.

I am from thorny blackberry patches
Spread over hillsides
And gnarled grapevines hanging from trees
Waiting for eager young hands
To grab hold and swing.

I am from close knit families
Living in houses built by
Strong hands and loving hearts
And cousins playing in yards perfumed
With the scent of roses and lilac bushes.

I am from time gone by
When fireflies dotted
Dark country skies and
Families left their doors open
For a visit from a night breeze.

I am from Appalachia
And I dwell in the shadows
Of the rugged hills
Where I walk in footsteps
Left by my ancestors.

c 2009 Janet Smart

Did Janet's I Am From Appalachia inspire you to give it a try? It inspired me!


Get to know Janet by visiting her at
www.creativewritingintheblackberrypatch.blogspot.com
Janet is an amazing writer and her photographs are breathtaking!