To the homes I’ve left behind

I left a home in 2008

Like, a temporary home, I guess

A hilly college town

I knew those hills

My calves had grown

Strong enough

To climb them

I knew

I knew the people

The trees

Where to get a cup of tea

I looked out my window

On my last night there

Saw the sunset over the Hudson

Reveled in the familiarity

And left it behind

I left a home in 2019

This one

An ocean away

In China

I was a foreigner there

But I stayed a long time

Knew the smells

Knew the language

Knew where to get a bowl of re gan mian

I looked out my window

On my last night there

Saw the sunset over the Yangtze

Reveled in the familiarity

And left it behind

I have an actual home

Like an actual actual home

Whenever I come back

I chafe against it

Wishing I were from

Somewhere else