I Am From: The Holiday Version

This is the Open Write, a place for educators to nurture their writing lives and to advocate for writing poetry in community. We are here every month. The next Open Write is January 17-19, 2026.

Our Host

Gayle lives in a small town near the Maryland line south of Gettysburg, PA. She taught middle school English and Reading Resource for 27 years in Carroll County, MD schools, retired during Covid, and soon “de-retired”. She currently has the best part-time retirement job ever as Professional Development Liaison between McDaniel College’s Education Department and the Carroll County School System. She supervises pre-service education students as they experience the real world of teaching. When not driving around listening to audiobooks and checking in with student interns, she supervises a motley crew of three small, loud dogs and four cats (of varying sizes and ages), spoils her grandchildren, and appreciates her husband of 47 years. She feels very lucky.

Inspiration 

( I am composing this in late May–not exactly winter holiday inspiration weather. I’ll do my best…)

You can’t go wrong with the old standby, the “I Am From” poem. It is versatile and easy to adapt to various writing purposes. This form depends upon sensory details taken from a person’s life and provides a window into the senses. This seems like the time of year to look back and remember.

Process

For some examples of “I Am From” poetry, check out the following websites:

1. Where I’m From | Models of Excellence;
2. I Am From Project
3. Template for I Am From poem

The holidays are the source of some of my strongest memories. Growing up just south of Buffalo, we were guaranteed a white Christmas every year. I have written about the one we celebrated–Christmas. There are many seasonal holidays to choose from–the Winter Solstice, Hanukkah, Yalda festival in Iran, China’s Dongzhi festival, Juul, or Yule in Scandinavia, Kwanzaa, New Year’s Eve, Three Kings Day, Chinese New Year, Las Posadas, or Diwali. Select a holiday that is meaningful to you. Allow us to experience an aspect of that celebration. Start with a list of ideas/memories of your holidays. Extract the essence of those memories. engage all the senses and immerse yourself–then share it with us.

Of course, you do not have to write about a seasonal holiday. You may choose to write about another day that is important to you. This is your place to write and remember, so do not feel limited to any one holiday or season.

Mine grew longer than I intended–and I apologize for that. I couldn’t stop writing once I started.  Yours can be short, long, rhymed or unrhymed. Just let it be a memory you hold dear.

Gayle’s Poem

I Am From

I am from
snowdrifts and raw winds 
blowing across Chautauqua Lake, 
rattling the windows of our tiny house.
I am from a Christmas tree we cut from the woods out back, 
crisp with the scent of pine, citrusy and sharp.
The cat has explored it, searching for the critters we left outside in the snow.

I am from 
Early Christmas morning with Santa’s gifts beneath the tree, 
Mom is making hot chocolate with a marshmallow hat,
the smell of coffee and cigarette smoke in the air as my dad wakes up
We tear open the gifts, amazed that Santa has again come through for us. 
My grandparents (always dismayed at Santa’s abundance) 
come from next door to bring practical gifts to round out the morning.

Then Christmas begins…

I am from
Frenzied preparation 
for the family Christmas
last-minute gift-wrapping, 
hair-curling, 
dress-pressing, 
shoe-searching 
coat-grabbing and
car-packing–with a gift for each member 
        of our 25-person extended Keopka family.

I am from
A group of small, sturdy German women in aprons, 
buzz around the farmhouse kitchen. 
Two huge tables, set with holiday china, await. 
A fire crackles in the hearth. 
The men sit at one table; the women and children sit at the other.  
The food is passed around…
ham and turkey, 
mashed potatoes and gravy, 
homemade bread, 
four different vegetable casseroles,   
three kinds of pie for dessert. (And of course, coffee.) 

I am from
The meal’s ending,
signaled as Uncle Herman ceremoniously takes one last slice of bread, 
pours rich turkey gravy over it, and mops his plate.

I am from
Waiting–a very long time, to my child’s mind,
for the women chattering as they clean the kitchen, 
as the old men doze in the living room
A Christmas tree, ceiling high, fills the room. 
Boxes and baskets of homemade gifts 
form a four-foot deep wreath of temptation around the glistening tree.
We wait, knowing that no gift can be touched.
until the last dish is put away and the aprons hung to dry,

I am from
A gift mountain of woven rag rugs, knitted hats,
homemade clothes, tatted doilies,
and home-canned food.
Something for everyone, from every family.
We children distribute the gifts.
The mountain shrinks and evolves, 
spreading out into the family surrounding the tree.
(I have taken my book and moved to the stair landing to read.)

We thank and hug and pack the car.
As the day darkens,
we drive home through the snow. 

I am from… 
This memory, this time, this place.
I hold it carefully, for it is a shining keepsake
that glows more brightly over time.

Although it is no more, it is a part of me.

Gayle Sands
5-26-25

Your Turn

Now, scroll to the comment section below to write your own poem. (This is a public space, so you may choose to use only your first name or initials depending on your privacy preferences.) Not ready? That’s okay. Read the poems already posted for more inspiration. Ponder your own throughout the day. Return later. And, if the prompt does not work for you, that is fine. All writing is welcome. Just write something. Oh, and a note about drafting: Since we are writing in short bursts, we all understand (and even welcome) the typos and partial poems that remind us we are human and that writing is always becoming. If you’d like to invite other teachers to write with us, tell them to subscribe. Also, please be sure to respond to at least three writers.