Where I'm From

The poem "Where I'm From" by Felicia Madlock is a poem based on the life Madlock went through throughout her life. The poem starts out on a serious note about the inequality African Americans had back when she was growing up. Talking about how she's from "hands that toiled cotton, steer, and paper" which speaks of the slavery that she was brought into when she was younger. The poem progresses and the thought of "hope" that they would eventually escape this inhumane life that they unfairly were forced into. Calling about the white people as "demons" categorizing them as the most hated and resented people they could think of. 

After Madlock speaks of getting to their long awaited freedom she states that she is, in fact, an American, comparing herself to the nature of other poets writings. She clarifies how she participated in the same things as other kids growing up being from the "double dutch days... When funk was the fever," that the only difference from her and others was the color of her skin.

For the rest of the poem she speaks of things that she experienced along with everyone else as a country, but not as a separation of race. Living through "Michael Jackson mania... BB King's Blues... and dreams that fight to live" explaining the fact that Madlock experienced the same experiences as any other person did. The last few stanzas she writes about love, a universal subject that anyone can relate to, bringing any reader together as equals. 




By: Mike Sanders