by Elaine Sorrentino

My path has strayed far from the house
but not so far that I cannot still
discern the yellow front porch light. 

From a distance, its appearance is welcoming,
a safe haven from the evils
that poison our delicate minds and souls, 

but drifting has released my clenched eyes,
unearthing a beautiful world of possibilities,
unquestionable acceptance of dissimilarities 

the epitome of what God’s utopia looks like -
one shared humanity, harmonious existence.
Lord, make me a means of your peace. 

I am neither innocent nor malleable
such as when I first wandered away,
having witnessed too much to expunge the revelation. 

Returning, I find the light still on
yet the entry code has changed,
I am an outsider in my own home 

struggling to find my new place at table
I notice things I did not before detect;
there is an undeniable crack in the wall. 

Elaine Sorrentino, Communications Director at South Shore Conservatory, Hingham, MA, has been published in Minerva Rising, Willawaw Journal, Glass: A Journal of Poetry, The Ekphrastic Review, Writing in a Women’s Voice, Global Poemic, ONE ART: a journal of poetry, Haiku Universe,  and has won the monthly poetry challenge at wildamorris.blogspot.com.