Where I Belong

I see You.
Here, I see You.
In their faces. In the way they touch mine.
They call my name and run to me.

I see You.
Here, I see You.
They know You differently than I do.
And You remind me I am not here to teach them.

I see You.
I've always said I'm looking for a place where my soul meets my body.
And I threaten, if ever I found a place where You stood, I might stand and never move.
I have found both.

I hear You calling to me.
The same thing I've been calling to You for so long.
Come close! Come quickly!
All this time, You've been drawing near, and I've stayed clean and dry.

The wind whips through the streets.
City blocks are touched by Your unseen hand.
As the sun rises and sets, Your glory and love bathe the suburbs and the ghetto alike.
Both needing to be set free.

You are hungry.
You are poor.
Your pockets are empty and threadbare.
But mostly... You are lonely.

You haven't had a conversation in days.
You haven't had someone pick You up and hold you.
You haven't been told You're loved.
You haven't been told You are beautiful.

But I see You.
I recognize You here. Now.
In their faces I see Yours.
And when I reach out for them, it is You I find.

I've been searching for home.
A place where I belong.
Where i am fully known.
Where who I am and who I want to be, suddenly, are one and the same.

I've found this place once before.
In a culture on the other side of the world.
I met You in between beats of a drum.
In the voices of children, dark and lovely.

I have found it again.
In my backyard.
in the chaos and controversy and conflict.
I do not see what the world sees.

I see You.