I Am (Unraveled) Poem by Eric Cockrell

i am, become...
i am the fallen tree,
the broken lamp, the axe,
the message never received.
i am the flag draped
over the casket in the silent room.

i am second hand clothes,
and hand-me-down hearts...
i am your grandmother's quilt,
and your son's grave...
i am the song of the whipporwill,
and the porcupine's quill.

i am the child dreaming of a grownup world.
i am the last letter written
by the soldier far from home...
i am your father's pipe,
and your mother's favorite pot...
i am memory and woodgrain,
the fire and the hollow.

i am the smell of Jesus
in the Sunday morning sun...
i am Kentucky whiskey,
and charcoal on the grill.
i am a Chevy, a Ford, a Dodge,
and an old Rambler....

i am a fishing pole,
laying out of school...
i am the sap of America
on the very last pine.

sap, and memory,
i am America unraveled,
i am, become...