{"id":125809,"date":"2023-08-29T22:30:46","date_gmt":"2023-08-30T02:30:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/?p=125809"},"modified":"2023-09-02T01:53:08","modified_gmt":"2023-09-02T05:53:08","slug":"i-grew-up-in-essex","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/2023\/08\/i-grew-up-in-essex\/","title":{"rendered":"“I Grew Up In Essex…”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI Grew Up in Essex\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mortality is our shadow\u2026 so I paused and watched today\u2019s sunrise and remembered being asked where I came from while being active on an internet forum way back when.<\/p>\n

I answered the question with a poem. Today, well, is a different time, different life \u2013 so a new poem began to whisper behind my eyes. Comes a point where \u201chome\u201d is a life\u2019s time away. And for some (and me) home is more than a mere place to be from. Home was\/is more than a where, more than a perception, more than a concept\u2026 It\u2019s a moment in time that encapsulates OUR everything \u2013 everything that makes and forms us into the person we are, the beliefs we hold, the \u2018tudes we exude, the dreams we expound, the hopes we cherish, the very reasons we existed to become what we ARE \u2026people. I remember so many, many physical addresses \u2013 so many NOW different perceptions of places where we \u201cpaused\u201d \u2013 all before being 18, let alone all the ones since that then. I reference \u201cEssex\u201d \u2013 as an AREA, an \u201cagezone\u201d prior to my becoming 18. not a specific single address.<\/p>\n

\u201cI Grew Up In Essex\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

I remember:<\/p>\n

My world view valued individuals and life.
\nMy \u201cvision\u201d held hope and empowered dreams.<\/p>\n

We, as a broken family, lived as best we could,
\nas we could,
\nas ONLY we could – then,
\nand I \u201cstood\u201d \u2013 both real and thoughtfully \u2013
\nfor what I selfishly believed
\nwere the concepts that really mattered
\n– to me (and subsequently us as a family, and
\nthen as a people.<\/p>\n

Newspapers had a \u201cWorld\u201d section
\n(kids passed by) and a National Section
\n(ignored as well).
\nMainly actual news coverage was Local,
\nof interest to us as the select few that were
\nimpacted by revelations and witnessed events.
\nSports (at all levels) were deeply followed because
\nthey had the cachet \u2013
\nthat special \u201csomething\u201d that held
\nbigger-than-life moments
\nof those selected as our heroes \u2013
\nthose we could emulate,
\nto become.<\/p>\n

Religion was the province and purview
\nof parents and ELDERS!
\nIt was mysterious \u2013 Catholicism – a strange language,
\ndifferent aspects, rules, buildings,
\npeople and dress.
\nAnd the other religions \u2013
\nWe and they didn\u2019t speak with \u2013 just about.
\nNothing inter-meshed, nor was shared,
\ndifferent rules \u2013 views, biases.
\nA lot of angers.<\/p>\n

Poor was a stigma
\nhurtful and unforgivable.
\nHousing \u2013 tenement and projects.
\nHungry was NOT a choice \u2013
\nIt was a way of life.
\nNo social nets, very few
\nGov\u2019t programs.
\nWe worked as we could,
\nwhere we could,
\nand whenever we could.
\nDefine rough\u2026 then live it.<\/p>\n

I knew my neighbors,
\nhad friends \u2013 beyond just schoolmates.
\nI wandered BECAUSE I could \u2013
\nmiles and miles \u2013 no fear.
\nStores were fun places,
\nmovies (theaters) were kid-friendly.
\nThere were way more ice cream trucks
\nand produce wagons.
\nTo this day \u2013 God took everything and
\neveryone else but not my feet \u2026
\nthough I\u2019m sure He\u2019s laughing NOW
\nand so am I.
\nWe survived \u2013
\npublic and catholic schools \u2013
\neven a seminary,
\nboth war and peace.<\/p>\n

We helped others\u2026 still do.
\nWe grew\u2026 some had families
\nsome worked, some started things.
\nWe were doers.
\nWe stood. We meant. We had and have pride.<\/p>\n

We had dreams and reached for them
\n(and always will).
\nAnd now\u2026 I don\u2019t know nor understand
\nothers\u2019 dreams. The frustration and angers are palpable.
\nPeople feel and act entitled.
\nReligion is ignored. People live in fear.
\nLife is about \u2026me\u2019s.
\nMany help, but many also don\u2019t.
\nWe don\u2019t have the faith nor guts \u2013
\nto stand up, to speak out, to do.
\nSo many don\u2019t even whisper their \u201copinions\u201d.<\/p>\n

And we don\u2019t question \u2013
\nmost follow
\nsigh\u2026<\/p>\n

I miss \u201cEssex\u201d \u2013 can you tell?<\/p>\n

Chris<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(C) Chris Twyford 2023<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI Grew Up in Essex\u2026\u201d Mortality is our shadow\u2026 so I paused and watched today\u2019s sunrise and remembered being asked where I came from while being active on an internet forum way back when. I answered the question with a poem. Today, well, is a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5226,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[5735,1162,10,1084],"class_list":["post-125809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-introductions","tag-chris","tag-introduction","tag-poetry","tag-writing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5226"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125809"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":126436,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125809\/revisions\/126436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}