Thank you for loving me
You were my first home
The years were good to you
For the long life you had
Your wife cared for you
Like no one else

I was astray and abroad
More than I came to visit
You are in almost every thought
Every breath
Every song I hear and listen

I didn't know you all that well
But you'll be in my heart forever

Sometimes I cry
Thinking about coming home
To a place that no longer holds you

On a day I knew would come
I no longer heard you
Though I can still replay
The sound of your voice
By our last conversation
As familiar as rain
Before I embarked on a journey
Seeking the soul of Asia to serve me
Not knowing I was saying goodbye already

I've heard the walk up the hill is the hardest
To relive and recount
Each painfully beautiful memory
With every step in honesty

I have yet to show my face
In my hometown
Where you now lay to rest

Nothing could possibly prepare me
Yet I know the day will come
I just don't know when

Flying from Cambodia to Thailand, words started pouring out of her. She wrote for hours recounting the details of her adventures. She felt safe and at home in the midst of her writing - returning to this home every day since.

As a woman who faced innumerable challenges in her early 20s, Alexandra knows what it means to rebuild a life and heal from chronic pain. Alexandra is here to share her story on resilience, love and what it means to believe in yourself. This poem is part of her debut poetry collection to be published in 2021.

You can write to her @alexandra.mireanu on Instagram.

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