A Poem for You: “Where I Belong”

I am not made of one place,

not shaped by one door,

not defined by the moments

that tried to make me small.

I have walked through silence,

through rooms that never felt like mine,

yet I carried a fire within me

that refused to go out.

Belonging.

I searched for it in people,

in spaces, in promises,

but it found me

when I chose not to break.

It lives in my voice

when I speak with courage,

in my hands

when I build a future for my child,

in my heart

that still dares to hope.

I belong

not because I was invited,

but because I am here

standing, growing, becoming.

And wherever I go,

I will plant pieces of myself

until even the unfamiliar

learns my name

and calls me home.