Woke up today in Oakley, Kansas,
a place I didn’t necessarily mean to land, but
found myself anyhow.

Leaving home means finding
home in this body or perishing.

So, I do the things I know as
if they’re holy ritual. Sprints down
the road before departure time,

a hot shower, look for my favorite leggings,
a small breakfast of fruit from my pack, jot down a poem.

Studying the sun, it looks different here
than it does at home.

When I was a child, I feared that if I moved too fast,
God would lose me.
I’m over here, I would say–

I still say
sometimes.