Joyful Ruins

What is belonging really?

To find people

Whom say you belong

Who always smile at you

Welcome you with open arms

Is belonging a home

A church

A place in the world

Belonging has always felt

So fleeting to me

I’ve rarely felt it

By those measurements

Not that I have never been

Welcomed Or loved

Or home

But that it is easy

To imagine oneself

As not belonging

Even if others

Think you do

That’s just it

You see

Others can offer you

Belonging

Through smiles

And words

Through actions

And love

But if you don’t receive it

Or believe it

You’ll never belong

So what is belonging?

It’s trusting that

What you experience

Is real

That the smiles

The hugs

The moments of joy

The truth telling

The tears

The places of fun

Are all real

They happened

And they aren’t temporary

Even if they aren’t forever

Because each of them

Paint a picture

Of belonging

But you can’t see it

If you don’t believe it

And that’s where belonging starts

In choosing to trust

That others just might

Love you and want you

And that is all