Tonight's Poet Corner: I Want To Go

I Want To Go
by Belinda Roddie

I am trapped
between the wall of fortitude
and the corner of comfort. I feel
the need to travel, but it is as if
everything holds me back. I know
that exploration does not come with
security, and vice versa.

But I do know this: I want to pack
my dreams in a bottle and drink them,
so they may become tangible in
a crisp, cleansing tonic. I want
to bring a group of friends with me
on a road trip to the edge of the world,
never mind the fact that the globe
is not flat. I want

to sleep under the stars
with kiss marks on my cheeks and chin,
my love beside me, sleeping
as the constellations open up
their arms to me. And I will be
frightened, but in the best, most
invigorating way. Fear is different

than anxiety. Hope
is different than ambition. Bravery,
more than anything, is different than
venom stewing in my stomach. I want
to go home, and yet I want my home
to be a million contrasting places. I wish
it could be one and many at the same
time. And I know it can't be so.