being alone
has never been an issue
I can explore
and travel
and experience
on my own
being alone
tends to be my normal
when I move
I leave everyone
and everything
behind
my friends
my school
my neighborhood
my room
it all becomes different
new
but still different
being alone
hadn’t bothered me
I actually liked it
until I was gone
completely gone
and I knew
nobody
from Hawaii to
Texas to
Georgia to
Virginia to
Nebraska
I’ve gotten around
and every time
I leave
a part of me stays
in my old friends
in my old school
in my old neighborhood
in my old room
in my old life
that part of me
that part of who I was
and who I’m not
remains
in the places
that I’m not
and every time I go
people ask me
why
do you leave?
where
are you going?
can’t you stay
just a little longer?
I feel obligated
to explain
that my dad
he fights
for our freedom
which makes us move
which makes me leave
it isn’t a chore
it isn’t a vacation
but it’s a part of who I am
my heart yearns
for home
but it also
yearns for change
moving
is my home
that sense of curiosity
of adventure
of optimism
it exists in me
not because of circumstance
not because of location
but because of each new place
and each new day
being an opportunity
to branch out
my blood runs blue
the blue represents
my sadness
when I leave
my peace
when I’m gone
and my father
and the air force
and the country
he fights for
regardless of
where I am
in the world
I know I belong
because
the veins of the world
the pumping heart
of our country
run blue