My stomping grounds is
the Umpqua
where
we're
Daughters.
Sisters.
Friends.
and Lovers.

In the Umpqua Valley where we're
Men who
work in
lumber yards
and sweat
the day
away

Where we come home
at Autumn's dusk
and put dinner on
the stove and
send our kids
to school next
day

where we felt like they were
safe
the next day

My hometown is
Roseburg
where
we're now
known for
a violence that
doesn't exist in us
but now defines us

where you've spoken on your lips the place that
cultivated me
that is me.

Roseburg and the Umpqua
aren't synonymous with
tragedy,
but my God,
what a tragedy.