(for Louisa, who named this poem for me, for Kevin who travels with me and for Molly, who I’ll always come home for x)
When I have been to places new,
I’m filled with riches shared with you.
I’ve learnt of cultures, strange to me,
And looked around in wondrous glee.
But I’m always a stranger and never at home,
For after a while the glee’s not alone.
It starts off gently, begins to pull
A yearning for home, for my heart to be full.
Where autumn air hangs all around,
Where the leaves and the mud become one on the ground.
Winding grey lanes over hills and through woods,
I am one with my home, I belong where I should.
With all that I’ve seen, I’m returning much richer,
I’ve built up some pieces to add to my picture.
A picture of people, places and time,
Dissolving together with past thoughts of mine.
The road still stretches out in front
Which way shall I go? What path do I want?
I will float on the wind, let it take me there,
To places I love in and places to care.
But after a while, I feel it again,
Like swimming upstream, my strength starts to wane.
For a time I have stayed, but now it has changed.
I go, leave this place, and its lives, all arranged.
Back to my home as if all were a dream,
Leaving no shadow of me, where I’ve been.
Coming home from Lille, France ~ November 2018
Lille, November 2018
St Pancras ~ Tracy Emin installation
