My Country of Origin Is by Tandy Sturgeon Wolff

“My Country of Origin Is” by Tandy Sturgeon Wolff

No country. Show me one and I will
point out no line
scratched in the earth, no
fence as long
as you say. So
forget it.

No one has one.
The closest thing to a
country is your body.You
imagine a
country of your own that is
very old,

but it’s not old enough,
never enough
to sing in your ears
like birds do.
And birds are still
at this point, everywhere.

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Tandy Sturgeon Wolff Artist Statement:

I have three siblings. We are close, although now living in widely scattered locations. My mother was an unpublished, brilliant writer and wonderful mother. My father was a widely published speculative fiction writer, and an inspiring parent. We never had much money growing up. Now we each have a house and grown children. I married a fellow poet. We raised three children while teaching college in numerous locations. My spouse eventually became a Zen teacher at GWZC (greatwave.org), and I added ceramics to my writing practice. In 1996 I took refuge in Buddhism. My eldest son died in 2015.