My First Home

Contributor: Agatha Heng

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I am beige
like the walls of my fifth house
because that is where I've stayed the longest.
It is where my little brother's footsteps
smacking against the wooden floors
greeted the morning
and the smell of my grandmother's beef broth
filled the early afternoon.
It is where my mother's heels would be thrown
towards the shoe rack after work
and where my dad would place
his camouflaged uniform.
My fifth house was not my last
but it was the first that earned the title of a home.
It wasn't the nicest I've lived in.
There were open patches
along the bottom of the walls
where insects would come through
and chipped countertops
that caught our blood several times.
But I would have rather been encompassed
by the patchy beige walls
than spend a luxury night
in temporary comfort.
I was tired of the boxes,
the pick up trucks,
and the hotel rooms.
I was tired of the airplane rides
and goodbyes.


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Agatha Heng currently lives in Cerritos, California but that is not where she finds her inspiration. She has ridden in gondolas through the murky Venetian waters and walked through the markets of Barcelona. If she is not experiencing these sights, then she is dreaming of the next time she will be able to.