Every single time
laying claim proves fraught
Belonging can feel like battle
without a winner
Familiarity think it be knowing,
says go here, x marks the spot
Not home, not ours, not only
a place
where arrival meets departure
every single time
guessing that here and mine go hand
in hand
Praying that here and mine stick
together like sisters
But no
just passing fancies
strangers who stay that way
here, not mine
Not from here
familiar stranger
comer and goer
I am strange and familiar
I know
every single time
*Original draft, Jan 1, 2022
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