"home" by Ross Balcom, Frequent Contributor

home

Ross Balcom

i.

 

those

lost Hoosier midnights...

wrestling catfish

in the Wabash

walking cornfields

(a hopeless insomniac)

confessing my soul

to a scarecrow

(ah, intimacy

sometimes too close

the scarecrow left hickeys

on my neck)

walking the railroad

walking, walking

but never leaving

home

ii.

the taste

of the pawpaw

iii.

let me understand

the heart of home

the beating heart

of home

waves of blood

breaking

on the shores

of Indiana

Poet's Notes:  I was born in Indiana, so I qualify as a "Hoosier." This meditation on "home" is dedicated to Hoosiers everywhere. The pawpaw (pictured) is an edible fruit native to parts of North America, including Indiana.