(I do not know if I would have gladly followed Jesus if I was the teacher of the law who stated “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go” and Jesus reply was “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head”
My reply would have been… so you homeless? (Do I really want a homeless Jesus?)
So this poem was inspired by this verse that maybe Home is not a place but who we are with.)
When they ask
what is home to you?
I tell them
home is never a house, a building, or a structure
It’s two eyes and a face
Where love is palpable
It is a mother’s arms spread into living rooms
To accommodate each and everyone
Her home-cooked meals will send you singing hymns to heaven
Because y’all know there’s nothing like your mother’s chapatis on a Christmas Sunday Morning
Home is a heartbeat
When you are feeling beat
By the burdens of this world,
You come and rest
Lay your head on their chest,
No need to stomach what you can’t stomach
Leave your performance at the door
Here, we lay naked in our truths
Here, you will find confessional laughs,
honest truths and healing hands.
Home is their eyes
A window to their soul
When they open the blinds
For you to be seen
Their presence, an escape
A vacation spot
The place you will always travel to.
And what is home if not the gift of family, the Joy of community and the smile of friendships
to even those whose blood is not of the same roots,
Who open up the doors to their hearts and we call it our home
So to whatever or whoever you call home
I hope they bring you peace,
I hope they bring you Joy,
I hope they bring you love.
And just like every home ain’t perfect
it can stretch you and cost you
I hope you stick around enough to know they are worth following.
Jesus is also worth following
-Nzilani