on a ground far away, I once dubbed home  
conflict and chaos constantly roamed. 
my heart aches with minds so, 
dear
of a space that’s now tainted,


the signal of bombs still echoes in my spirit 
the flavour of smoke eternally entwined
with the ghosts of a place so defeated
where births were fractured 
lives stood the expense

oh, 
how I yearn for those names
when daughters roared
wrestled in the sun’s gleams
where the air was crammed 
with the taste of blossoms 
and
devotion lie ample in all its capacities

but now I’m far, 
too far 
from that land 
I adore 
and the desire I feel, 
I can’t dismiss 
for even though I’m now “safe” 
and “sound”—
according to them
my heart still stiff, 
my hands attain the earth

the surfaces never dim
and the thirst to grab, 
never abates
for even though it’s a place 
of battle and strife, 
it’s still the place that holds 
my body 
and meaning

so, 
I’ll huddle here 
in this foreign soil 
drops in my orbs 
gut in my paw 
longing for a place far, 
too far 
away.