I’m one of ‘em 

Always searchin’ for home

And all that sentimental shit

I’ve ran from the place my family lived

Crashed with my mom’s folks

To try and find my place in all this.

Been stranded in Anchorage

High as hell, feelin’ alone

Called my parents,

Cried and said I wanted back in their biome.

Settled down,

Napped a little

Then lost our friend following some drug dealers–

He did come back with more weed though.

Smoked and saw a moose,

Fueled up on Wendy’s 

And caught a plane back to Denver.

That’s when I learned it’s hard to do hard things alone.

3 months later,

Climbed Mt. Hood in the midst of a blizzard

First time I feared being that cold.

Thankfully, a group of wine-guzzling moms

Pulled us into their door

Stripped off our jackets,

And brought us onto the dancefloor.

We gave it a crack the next morn’

And still didn’t make it –

I got sick,

And my friend attempted to climb it alone.

That’s when I learned Trust was essential.

4 months post haste the climb of Hood

I ambled to New York,

Saw the night lit as I hadn’t before –

Like the stars touched the ground

In the form of billboards and people,

Quite a sight to behold

To an 18 year old boy

Whose world was still so little.

That’s when I learned the importance of authenticity,

The core to keep in a sea full of people –

Lest you drown in them and forget what you breathe for.

A month later –

I climbed mountains in Denver,

Cold plunged into waterfalls

And felt closer to Heaven –

Although the air’s a little lighter,

And maybe I was further from my troubles

But I reckon it wa’ good for ma’ soul –

I’ll never forget

Dancing with strangers at Red Rocks

To the songs of Mt. Joy –

The first night in some years

My joys drowned out my sorrows.

That’s when I learned I don’t need to have my feet on familiar soil

In order to find company,

And enjoy experiences I’ve never had before.

A quarter later,

I went to Tucson with my boys

For my cousin’s 21st solar circle –

Climbed desert slopes,

Pulled cactus needles from my cousin’s skin

Only to have them stab my own.

Two circles later,

Still linger as reminders of what happened there –

We’ve since lost our friend that led us up the hill in the first place

From an addiction to coke.

That’s where I learned the world may change

But its marks will remain as we grow old

And we can only hope the wounds we open today

Will eventually scar over.

Through all my travels,

Through all my moments within the greater world –

These marks have followed.

Whether it be emotionally,

Physcially, 

Mentally –

I carry them with me

Wherever I go.

And so,

Somewhere along all my travels

I learned these places are just lessons,

Moments and interactions,

That we perceive in order to grow

That no matter where I end up,

I am always home –

Because all my things are already with me.

All my knowledge,

Actions, 

Relationships,

Stability –

Those are the only things I need.

Within my heart, body, and soul,

Everything I own is within me–

And that Is why I am my own home.

That is where you should learn from me,

Make yourself a little more homely.

Join in the movement,

Indigenous folks,

Indigenous to our own mind, body, and souls.