© Anushka Bose. All rights reserved.*
My feet and my heart
Scattered across airplanes and airports
Across mountains and oceans that feed the distance between where I come from
And where I go
My heart longing for the goodbyes said
Through warm hugs and teary eyes
Goodbyes to the homes that built me
The walls that hold the memories that changed me
And I sit through the turbulence of the plane
Wondering why the rocky skies resemble the way I feel in my heart
I know it’ll pass
And we’ll will land
And recreate
The homes we lost
The memories that sit through our photos
And emblems we collected
And on a cold day
We’ll find ourselves thinking about the hearts we touched
And the ones that touched us
We’ll wonder about that person that showed us love and kindness on a gloomy day
How they’re doing
And where they are
And wonder if they ever feel this way, if they think of us too
Homesickness
Is not always a place
It is
A feeling,
A craving,
For that warmth
And familiarity
and longing
Starting over
Both painful and beautiful
Can feel all too familiar
But sometimes
The heart craves stability
The pains of uprooting
Although invisible,
Leave a print that you can never erase,
For better or for worse
Anushka is a Graduate Student at Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. She spent her youth growing up in Dhahran, where she attended Dhahran Elementary, Dhahran Middle School, and Dhahran Academy. She loves learning about new cultures and is fascinated by the diversity that brings us all together, especially the expatriate community, where the only thing that is common is that we are all different, in culture, religion, and the perspectives we hold. One day she hopes to publish a book on the third culture kid experience. Dhahran holds a big place in her heart.
*Any reproduction or republication of all or part of any images and written material is expressly prohibited unless the author of the material has expressly granted its prior written consent.