Page 108 of The Secret to Belonging

disfigured

the familiar made strange. alien

but

you know

it’s not them

this is their habitat

you

are the extraterrestrial

lost on a foreign planet

Without adequate preparation, homecomings can be excruciating.

your father drives you to the house

you brace yourself

you’ve seen enough movies to imagine

but instead

there’s nothing

no charred skeleton

no caved-in walls

only a path

a wrought-iron railing

two concrete steps

and a gaping hole

mounds of ash

charred pipe

a toilet

tears roll down your father’s cheeks

we should have replaced the shake shingle siding

we should have had fire extinguishers in every room

you stare at him

words snake between your teeth

(you should have evicted the freebasing drug addict in the basement)