“Welcome home” they all said
like it was good to be back
like this place was really home
if home is where the heart is
I am currently homeless
“Welcome home” they all said
as if I had been off at war
or in prison, unjustly accused
“Welcome home” they all said
jauntily, as if the inexorable nature
of their positivity could erase all
“Welcome home” they all said
because it suited them, their needs
fitting their personalities, clichéd
“Welcome home” they all said
to their credit, it at the very least,
fell far short of “Have a nice day”
Which would have required the
only response I could possibly give;
“Pardon me.”
- Mark L. Lucker
©2016