Where the Heart is: I Am Poem

Emily Barnes
I Am Poem

I Am
I am old at age seventeen.
I wonder why anyone would harm, kidnap, or kill.
I hear memories of loved ones, lost ones replay in my head.
I see life through photography, "in a way nobody ever [has]" (156).
I want "a home without wheels, a home fixed to the ground" (241).
I am old at age seventeen.

I pretend Forney is better off without me.
I feel like a child, playing adult.
I touch Americus’s softly beating heart.
I worry sevens will harm her.
I cry with Lexie at the pain of abuse.
I am old at age seventeen.

I understand that people can change.
I say "you'll know...if it's the right person" (252).
I dream that Sister Husband still plays with Americus.
I try to support my friends.
I hope Americus will be strong and smart.
I am Novalee Nation.