coming home

Coming home never feels
like you think it will
even when arms are open
and every embrace warm
and familiar

You mouth tastes like a memory
I wasn't sure I could ever relive
or if I even wanted to
but your mouth feels like home
it always has
from the moment
I grabbed your face
and I kissed you
under a tent at a music festival
waiting for The Living End
to come on stage

Leaving you was like
homelessness
and I lived lost and displaced
out of reach
waiting for you to become
the person you were
before grief, depression and addiction
made you a monster
whose mouth became a weapon
no kisses could cure
or hugs erase

Coming home never feels
like you think it will
especially when we aren't
the same people who parted ways
ten months ago

We're both a little stronger
both a little broken
both better for the time
we spent away

I walk around this familiar space
and though I'm happy
it doesn't feel quite real
like it could disappear at any time

© Indie Adams 2022