Sue Diewert, a poet and CPL supporter, followed the What Am I Of? poetry exercise to write the poem below. Thank you so much for sharing, Sue! Want to write your own What Am I Of? poem? Learn about the poetry exercise inspired by Sam Hamill’s poem “Of Cascadia” and how to try it HERE.

What am I Of

Returning here after over 40 years,
Hoping for more smiles and less tears.
No longer connected to the military way,
Free of the rules that limit what you wear, do and say.
A hardier soul with age and experience on my side,
Knowing the wounds of the past acts like a guide.

 

Does the patch of ice at Glacier Gardens remember my concussion?
Or is it only me now – that knows of that traumatic occasion?
What about the house on Noel Avenue, are the splinters of pain,
Still reverberating in the rafters or piercing the foundation like rain?

 

Us neighborhood kids-built Fort “Y” at the foot of hill,
We played for hours with no thought of going home – until,
Our parents whistled, yelled or we became hungry to fill –
Our empty bellies that needed food more than executing our skill!

 

On the tetherball court at Brooklyn Elementary,
My need to win brought out a bit of a bully in me,
I was tall, an advantage, you see
For whacking the ball and getting a victory!

 

Alas, that is all in days gone by,
As I continue to grieve the loss of mother – my,
I find solace in an ability to help other children survive,
Their own experiences of dissonance in their lives.

 

The wounded healer is at work,
Hopefully showing more kindness than jerk,
Perhaps those past wounds could be seen as a perk?
Here in the Comox Valley is what I am of…said with a smirk 🙂

 

Sue Diewert
January 2026