Home at Sunrise
A gypsy friend tells me home is
where she hangs her hat,
shows me photos of sunrises over oceans
and the Seven Wonders of the world.
I stopped searching when my son was born,
burned the shoebox filled with postcards
and gave away my souvenirs.
This morning, drinking tea
among my tropical plants
and Van Gogh prints,
I saw the sun, the same sun
that climbs the Grand Canyon and Taj Mahal,
raise its head high outside my kitchen window.
~ Dolly Dennis
Since moving to Edmonton from Montreal in 1993, Dolly Dennis’ work has been published in several literary publications, the Edmonton Journal, an Anthology and the CBC. She is currently working on her first novel and short story collection. This is her first poem. God Bless her courage!
“I’ve never felt the compulsion to pack my bags and see the world. Call me crazy! I did some travelling in my hippie days but the coming home part was always the best part—there’s nothing like your own bed. A lot of my friends seem to have a need to go somewhere else for escape, to relax, to do research, or to experience adventures, new cultures or to look at a beautiful sunrise in different settings. And there’s nothing wrong with that. The poem was inspired by my realization that everything I really needed to make me happy was right here at home.”
Editor’s note: This poem is from Home and Away – a sequel to the bestselling Writing the Land (2007). Look for one poet to be featured each day as Alberta poets ponder the question “what is home?” and explore our complex relationship with working on, living with, exploiting and protecting our land and our home. For more information about the project, click here.
I love the punning on “son” and “sun” in this poem, as well as the sibilance. Thanks for sharing your lovely poem, Dolly.