Homelessly Homeful

When you ask me where home is

I will tell you it is Beirut, the city that wakes up in two time zones and yet,

time seems to move in reverse

You see, Beirut tells savory tales of war and corruption

And it makes no sense to me,

loving a country that begs you to hate it everyday

Yet, somewhere between the chaos and the pain,

Activists and lovers keep its heart sustained

I will tell you home is Doha, Qatar, where my beautiful family resides

Where they take migration, exile, asylum from Lebanon

A country that fractures and divides

And though distance may keep us physically apart,

My love for them still echoes deep in my heart,

And my mama tells me to find beauty in the smaller things

She says Allah is on our side, trust and believe all that he brings

Ask me where home is and l'Il say it's New York City, where I first got hired

Until they realized I wasn't American, and then I got fired

In a city that never sleeps, Brooklyn is where my heart leaps,

Where the thrift shops find me, and the subway astounds me

You'll feel the buzz of the people and the vibe in the air,

a keen reminder that life is always there

Somehow, I found my home in Abu Dhabi, the city on the rise,

At a critical turning point, it now lies

I found solace in a place that continues to embrace

The talented artists shaping Abu Dhabi's new face,

Now remember, as the city grows and takes flight,

our creativity is a guiding light

Where home is, you ask of me,

And I shrug with uncertainty,

If home is where the heart is,

I left mine in New Jersey,

But you see there is much beauty in longing

Longing allows distance to recede

And creates room for hope, opportunity, a chance to stop the bleed

And so, I'll love from afar, and like my favorite speakeasy in New York City

I'll keep the door open, only for those who know where to find me

Where is home?

I will tell you I left my home, then I found home,

then I left it again, with parts of me clinging to it, refusing to let go,

holding tight and demanding the know

Why, I don't have a home, I think I am homeless

I can't seem to know, I think it is pointless

I'm passing by, passing through, passing away, passing on

Yet this lingering need for belonging that I continue to seek, bleak

Until I begin to find home in the strangers that stop by,

say hello and a quick goodbye

But wait, you see, I still have a home,

In fact, I'm homeful

For I belong here and now, In the abundance that surrounds,

In you, in him, in them, in me,

I have a home, one that sets me free.

So you see, I am not homeless,

I am homeful, in all its fullness,

A liberating sense of belonging, one I cannot deny,

A place to call home, until the day I die