Not every place that shelters you feels like home, Captured in a place I can’t quite call home,but it holds pieces of me anyway. A place that feels like home to most, Yet still, not quite to me. Maybe it’s the people, Not cruel, but never kind enough To feel like family. Perhaps it’s the markets, Where prices rise with the sun, Or the fear that linger, When the night sets in. Still, with so many reasons to leave, I find one more reason to stay. The sunset, Oh, the sunset. It’s the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. A fire in the sky that silence my thoughts, And for a moment, Everything is still. I asked Nanchang, Should I get a camera? Capture the skies, keep them to myself A gallery of tranquility. But I’m yet to get a response The trees, Sometimes gloomy, sometimes alive. I once wished they could talk, Until I realized they already do I just don’t understand their language. There was a little girl, Who ran toward me after school, Looked me in the eye and said, "Fine girl," Then winked, Before shyly running back to her mother. I smiled the whole night. Not because it was new, But because it came when I needed it most. And to the other child The one who hugged me While I wore my worst frown, I still walk that path, Hoping to see you again. I hope you grow into a star. I’ve adapted, I think. Yet some days I question my sanity. I dream of running away like a rebellious teen in grown skin, Twice a day, maybe more. But there are people I want to stay for. Scenes I haven’t yet explored. Skies I want to gaze at During cold nights, Moons I still want to meet On the 13th, 14th, 15th When they shine their brightest. And so, I stay. For the beauty. For the ache. For the strange, soft in-betweens That remind me I am still alive.