This was a year of the unexpected
Where I put more miles on my soul
And took risks that felt like falling
Staying with my friend’s family
I find some of the kindest
Most accepting people I have ever known
I felt…
At home.
As the convention came around
It was flawed
I still smiled
Two people came to my table
I called one “he”
She
Her friend gently corrected as they bought my book
I insisted on giving them a free book of poetry
To apologize
I signed it
You are beautiful
The next day they told me they read
Pocketboys and loved it
We embraced
I felt…
At home.
Friends came and they were kinder than
I expected
I saw one who was happier than I had ever seen him
We ate ice cream
I read poetry after a fiasco
I was still smiling
Gorgeous interuptions
And a bouquet of flowers
From my adoptive grandmother
My brother calls me a badass
I share every moment with my niece and nephew
Cherishing them as valuable as they are
I feel…
At home.
Waiting for my train I meet a stranger
Together we give a man
Enough money to get home
He wears a hospital bracelet and tries to give us his watch in thanks
We refuse
On I go, wearing tattered shoes
To greet family again in the form of my cousins
I am uneasy
But I wake up to a hug from my little cousin
And it’s all okay
It’s actually good
I don’t know what to do
But we talk
We bond
I feel…
At home.
Off I go with a friend who I have known but not met
She kindly warns me
That her car is holding two of her family
I want to curl up into a ball
There is no way they will like me
I want to hide in my hoodie
I am not made for family
I am falling
They quickly catch me
We go to the beach to see otters
We eat artichoke hearts
The day turns into night
With strong coffee
Warm conversation
And her little brother digging my style
Her son thinks I am cool
This is the kind of family
I dreamt about when I was little
I am accepted
I feel…
At home.
Off again
A plane ride and the anxiety siezes me
Sisters I haven’t seen in well over a decade
I will disappoint them
I know it
One of them says it feels like she just saw me last week
We have intense conversations
Like soldiers who survived a war zone
We cry together
We laugh together
It was so much more than any of us expected
I find that they were just as scared to see me
We are not meant for family
But we are family
I feel…
At home.
I leave…
I return
My fiance makes me dinner
We both agree it’s terrible
The next day I am walking
At 5 am in the warm September wind
A stranger talks to me
Explaing that his name is Stephen
With a ph
As if that is of great importance
I feel…
At home.
Iconoclastgrey Word Artist 