“HOME” – A POEM BY CALEB

By Caleb Gross

Banana trees Glowing in the mid-day sunSlowly wave their wide leavesOver my head as my shoes squish The jelly-like mudSmall meringa trees line the path -So unlike the corn fields behind my past home –

I sprint onDodging the mangoes lying dead on the path -None of those in Indiana -The green painted concrete of the medical clinicA church two stories tall behind a fenceA soccer field spread out next to itCows grazingAll these blur togetherI pass another small house and a larger building

A grassy field with only a few trees in itThe gravel underneath my feet makes a kirch kirch soundThe smell of creole sauce and chicken make my stomach roarThe Haitian sun burns my neck Like a furnaceThe plants lining the road prick my anklesAt lastI come to a swing set and benchA play areaNot unlike the one I had in IndianaI complete my runAnd as I stumble through the front door I call out,”I’m home”