What's It Like Having A Hometown (Poem Version)
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What is a hometown
What's it like having a hometown
Cuz I've never had one
All my life I've moved around
I've heard it's somewhere that
You spent your whole life
Somewhere you know
Like the back of your hand
A place where you've seen things come and go
A place where you've seen things grow and die
A place where all of your memories are
A place where everyone knows your name
But I've still seen things come and go
Like friends, family, classmates, and cultures
I've still seen things grow and die
Just in different cities and states
I've got places rich with memories
Albeit on different sides of the globe
Plenty of people still know my name
But many more have forgotten them too
And when you travel around
Meeting all kinds of people
They first thing they ask is
Where are you from
The inevitable question I always dread
For I have too many answers to give
Would you like to know my ethnicity
I'm a mix of two regions but broadly Chinese
My nationality is American
I lived in New Jersey but for only 3 years
Most of my childhood was spent in Shanghai
But I moved 3 houses in the span of 8 years
And before I moved here to Ohio
I stayed the longest in one place in Illinois
But I wouldn't call Northbrook my hometown
Because my life in China is where my roots are
But I spent so long in Illinois
And yet, when I went back to visit it felt so wrong
It didn't feel like I was going back home
It felt like I was visiting my history
The part of me I left behind
And all of it has completely changed
I see the things I left behind
I see the people I left behind
I feel like I'm trapped in my past
And I can't breathe until I leave
I often wonder what it's like
To have one place that you call your home
Everything that you know is there
And when you go back you feel you belong
And when you grow up and maybe move out
To a whole new city, state, or country
You have a place to point back to and say
That is where I came from
Cuz when I grow up
And make my name
And people ask
Where did you come from
Where would I, where could I point them to
Other than my dad and mom
It will never be a simple answer
I didn't come from just one place
I came from moving past
I came from moving on
I came from lost memories, and photo albums
And happiness, and sadness
And opportunities, and accomplishments
And hobbies, and passions
And cultures, and traditions
And history, and legends
And even growing up on the internet
I came from everything
From nowhere in particular
And I know what it's like to not have a hometown
I don't have a hometown
But I've lived in many homes
I've made a few good friends
But I never get to keep them
People talk about their childhood friends
Their favorite restaurant down at the end
Of a street where they made all their memories
A place they've been for centuries
When the sun sets you'll go home
When I'm back I'm just alone
There's a place where you belong
Though I don't it's not so wrong