I Belong Here

The city sleeps off a Saturday night and I climb.

Dawn beckons with the promise of rare, brilliant day

Soon my eyes are pierced by blue, reflected off the surface of the water

Skin warmed by soft gold, breaking through to ward off the darkness of night

Behind me, the glassy island-studded waters of the tranquil lake shrink to miniature-size

At the summit, jagged peaks rise behind lush, green valleys

A single white farm house

Beyond, the Western shoreline and further still, four thousand miles of shimmering Atlantic ocean that I just crossed to come home

I used to think the most important thing in life is to travel.

See how people live, eat their food and you'll walk in their shoes

But here up high I realize there's no salve for the weary traveler's soul quite like coming home.

Stretching back through generations, my ancestors tried and failed to reach American shores,

The only proof a faded black and white family passport photo

Residue of an unrealized dream for a better life

I was the only who ever made it.

But making it meant I I became two people, slowly,

Straddling two continents, a heart divided and longing

A homesickness crept in that couldn't be cured

I ached.

For the fierce patriotism of my land,

Passionate debate,

Telling stories through music,

Dancing in the streets,

Side splitting banter,

The rain, the rain, the rain...

So when the world went dark, I returned

To the endless green and the occasional blue

My body quenched by the waters that birthed me, I close my eyes

I belong here.

I am home.