Where I’m Coming From

My four great-uncles’ names are
Avie (uvvy), Dully, Si (sigh) and Milo.
Another couple related to me are Gummy & Bumpy,
and somewhere is a relative named Nummy with a son,
Stump.

And I didn’t think this was anything
too out of the ordinary until out-of-towners
responded to these names with spitting giggles.

I did not realize the landscape of my youth was “bleak”
until a college friend from the Cities made the comment
as we drove home for Christmas break.

But then, my friend didn’t have the opportunity
to know what great men my uncles are,
and not growing up here, couldn’t know
the wealth of stories and heritage
that hid under the dirt-blown snow
that muddied this land for miles.