House or Home?

“Home” is a tricky word

Most imagine the perfect House

With the white picket fence

The dog and the swing set

And the flowers and garden

Most think it’s where you decorate with your style

Raise a family

Celebrate birthdays and holidays

Even mourn those before you

And just be with those you love

Most think it’s where you are accepted

Where you are loved

Where you are wanted

Where you are safe

And where you go to relax

House or Home?

For they are two different things

The House where you go at the end of the day

May not always be safe

May not always be full of love

May not always be welcoming

May not always be accepting

Home is not always where you go at the end of the day

Where you lay your head down to sleep

Where you wake up and leave for school or work

Where you feel a part of everyone else

Where you belong

House or Home?

Home is so many more things and places

Home may not be a physical place

It might be in the arms of someone you love

Where you can hear their heartbeat

Smell their smell

Taste their lips

Touch their thoughts

And see their love

Home may be someone else’s House

There you are a part of their family

Where they love you just the way you are

They accept you

They welcome you

They want you

That someone might be a lover

That someone might be a best friend

They might be your Blood family

Or they might be the family you make

Home may be a city

Where the lights reel you in

Where the sounds bring you peace

Where the food grounds you

Where the sidewalk guides you

Home may be a book you lose yourself in

Where you know the feel of the page

That familiar book smell

You are intertwined with the characters

So you don’t feel the outside anymore

House or Home?

Do not be afraid

You are allowed to decide

Home is where you feel safe

Home is where you feel loved

Home is where you desperately want to be

House or Home?

I know what it means for me

But tell me, what does it mean for you?