Everybody Says

Everybody says

I am my father’s daughter:

the straight toes, dark hair, and thick eyebrows(at one time),

the habit of returning to the house several times for forgotten items,

the love of my native city, Philadelphia.

Everybody says

I’m the image of my paternal grandmother,

with red highlights in my hair from my paternal grandfather

and skin coloring to match.

Everybody says

My weight problem is inherited,

Great-grandmother, grandmother, mother;

All round and chubby – overweight by any standard.

Everybody says

My nose is like my father’s,

My love of writing and reading passed on from my mother

as well as her quick temper – thank goodness,

also quick to forgive and forget (my father).

Everybody says,

Everybody says,

Everybody says…

But I just want to be me.

With a nod to my mentor text: “Everybody Says” by Dorothy Aldis in Songs of Myself compiled by Georgia Heard

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