An Ode to a Home – A Poem

When I moved here,

it was really an

awakening.

I stepped out of

the darkness of the

basement apartment,

with small windows

and a view of

the alleyway.

It was small enough

that I could stand

in my living room

and, with arms outstretched,

touch both walls.

I nicknamed it

the bat cave.

I had wanted to

find a place that I could

hide in and I did,

for six long years.

When I moved to

the place that became

my home, it was like

stepping out of the darkness

and into the light.

I began trying to

find myself within its walls

and outside of them.

I embraced life again,

finding joy in

the smaller things.

The sunlight streaming in

thorough the windows,

painting and writing,

the smell of incense.

the fact that I had

a bathroom within

the apartment.

More than that,

I found joy within myself,

within my perfect imperfections.

I found the light again

that lived within me.

It was a small flame

at first, but gradually,

it grew so that my

whole outlook on

life changed. Slowly,

I became me again,

letting the shadows

of my previous

apartment fall away.

As the light touched

the shadows I still

carried with me, it singed

the edges until the shadows

were nothing but smoke.

When the final shadow

was gone, I was free

of everything that had

held me down and held

me back. The forest

of trees was still there,

but it seemed far more

beautiful surrounded by

so much light. As I

prepare to move into a

new home and begin

another chapter of my

life, I realize I didn’t

just find a home here.

I found myself

and for that,

I will be eternally

grateful.