i’m sitting here on my last morning
as a blacksburg resident
i chose bollo’s of course
there was no other choice for me
for a place to go
to mourn
to celebrate
to reflect
almost ten years of my life
spent growing
changing
morphing into something new
i am the butterfly
emerged from chrysalis
i know i’ll be back
i’m leaving a couch and a tv
that will need to be picked up
one day
when i have a job
but from now on this place will be
a vacation destination
rather than a place called
HOME
where i could walk down the street
and know so many people
where i could feel
known
witnessed
responsible to others
to the community
now it will become the place
that i return to every so often
to touch back into
who i was
who i used to be
and the things that happened here
the things that happened here
used to mean a lot
now it means so much more
i’ve said this to many of you but
i can’t believe that i have to
leave my HOME when
it is in this time of pain
i wish that i could stay
and grieve, process, heal
with you
i wish that i could be here
when this place becomes what it
naturally will be
after the chrysalis
that will happen
when you’ve emerged from
the change that is inevitable
after what’s happened
i hope that you will report back
to me
the stories
the images
the little nuances
as quickly as possible
so that i can soak them in
because just as you’ve held me
with light and love
as i’ve traveled afar
now i will do the same for you
i love you all
i miss you already
i get in the car to drive now
into so much unknown
we are the same