HOME I grew up in Vashti North Carolina out in the country where nobody had cell phones or cable tv I never wore shoes momma always said being barefoot made your feet tough enough to walk on the gravel We always knew when it was time to go barefoot when the Dogwoods bloomed I grew up with two brothers and two sisters I'm the baby My big brother Adam used to take me for rides on his dirt bike my little feet dangling on the sides as we rode throught the mountain air my brown hair messier than ever my Daddy always let me help him plant the garden I took it very seriously hoe seed cover water all day long just Daddy and me Sometimes he would let me drive the tractor other times i rode on the wheel cover as he plowed the garden It was always tough on me being so little and all So I fell asleep head in the dirt feet straight up on the telephone pole I was homeschooled So I didnt have many friends except for the neighbor girl i used to dance with in the front yard the woods was my best friend my faeries and knomes helped me build forts out of rope and broken electronics I picked every flower i saw half i would give to momma and half i would keep I used to love to walk in the freshly tilled earth and the thorns in the woods would prick my feet but I refused shoes Momma says I talked to myself alot but there was always someone there Now I still live in Vashti North Carolina No one has cell phones or cable tv I never wear shoes and i walk on the gravel just fine I never go barefoot before the dogwoods bloom my legs dont dangle on the side of a dirtbike anymore but the mountain air still blows my brown hair Daddy still plows the garden and my toes always find themselves embedded in the freshly tilled earth Im done with school and i have many friends but i still dance in the front yard just my Ipod and me the wood is still my best friend the thornes still prick my feet because i refuse to wear shoes the faries and knomes welcome me each time i enter I'm 5'9 almost 16 years old I have boobs now and a love for a man but I still pick flowers half for momma and half for me
