ruby slippers

she said
'but i thought
there's no place like home'
this locale was a fog
a mist of transitory certainty
solid ground of quicksand
that became real
as swiftly as it ceased to be
just as it became
it was no longer
a vicious cycle
of hope and despair

she said
'i can't go home
because he is my home...
er, was my home'
life had ripened her off the vine
leaving the nest more than willingly
eager
she awaited her true creation
to discover new lands
new feelings
new sensations
to discover
herself
and what she was made of

she said 'if i am made of strength,
then why do i fall apart?'
he said 'you are amazing'
and she believed him
because he found her
she found him
and
so
she was amazing
and strong
her core was rapturous to the sadness
the lonely
the crippling self doubt
the loss
the process of healing
just as the ground beneath her continued to quake
while her roots remained lashed and diseased
she took the pieces
of a foundation she had inherited
made it work
for her
for her dreams
for her dreams of what her life could, should and would be
she tended to each wound
one by one
with the tender care
that isn't easy to always
patiently
provided
to one's self
she mended all the holes in her garments
as she continued to fall and falter
myriads of trials
and many more errors
she suffered
she learned
she rose
she rallied on

partially because
he said 'you are amazing'
but mostly because
she needn't click her heels three times
or be given garnet shoes
she knew
'there's no place like home'

and that
her home
lay
inside of her
(not him)
her heart
her mind
her soul
she didn't have to go home
she was home.