What Makes A Home?

Crashing waves
Upon the sand.
Stars in the sky above,
Shining on the endless
Sea.

Home is where
Your treasure is.
But what makes a home?

Decisions
And choices
And actions
And hopes.
These are a life,
These are the world.
And as each evolves
So does their bearer.

Home is where
Your loved ones are.
But where can they be safe?

Gunfire and crunching wheels,
Shouts and screams and
Laughter and snores.
Surrounded by people
Whose names you shall never know,
And yet with them you share a bond
No one can understand.
With a sigh,
The soldier faces the dawn.

Home is where
Your heart is.
But can you leave your heart behind?

Sitting on the patio,
In the quiet of the nearing twilight,
Smoking a cigarette,
Watching the trees.
Loved ones around,
Quiet as they drink in your presence.
And you think,
“This,
Not my treasure,
Not my bed,
Not my house.
No, here, surrounded by my family,
This is home.”