Poem 1: Home, at Last (dedicated to SF, written about the feelings of home associated with San Francisco)

Sparkling Waves

Ocean crashing against the weathered docks

Reflecting the tiny lights

That seek to illuminate

The beauty that lies in the familiarity

Of a plain grey bridge

Silver skylines I will yearn to see

Long after I am long gone

Rolling hills, glorious life

My heart searches to replicate

Even when I am hundreds of miles away

And the glass buildings

And endless coffee shops

Mean everything and nothing at once

As I bask in the fresh cold of new beginnings

And I know there is more

Past the golden gates and towering skyscrapers

There is a land of sorrow and sadness and inequity

But also, of promises

Promises we make ourselves as we create solutions

The barren land of our minds growing rich with ideas

And everywhere my eyes fall

I see a problem, but not only a problem

I see a million different ways to solve it

And in the near distance

Emerges a golden light of hope

Glowing opportunities breaking through the fog

A light I will spend my whole life chasing

Across the furthest corners of the earth

Then following my heart

I will take my last breath in the place

I have loved all my life

And my tears will fill the bay with joy

For to live is the cruelest curse and most precious blessing

And right now, all I feel is happiness

Because I am home

At last