Key Fits in Door, but No Longer Feels Like Home

I remember the day you passed.

I was with you all day

Never leaving you to be alone or afraid

Something felt different that day

Night fell and the nurse arrived telling me to step outside

To care for myself and you would be just fine

The moment came

And passed, taking your soul with it

You were gone,

just like you said you would be,

when I wasn’t around cause you knew

I couldn’t bear to see

After the funeral,

I came back to the only home I’ve ever known.

It was full of memories,

the kind that echo through time—

laughter radiating from the walls,

warmth in every corner.

But now, something is different.

It is quiet.

I yell upstairs to see if I’m alone.

I am.

It sets in:

you’re both gone.

The only security I’ve ever known

For a moment, I realize—I’m all alone in this world.

That believe is overwhelming to me.

Suddenly the air grows thick

I can’t breathe.

Fear seeps in, like a shadow through the cracks.

These walls, once my refuge from the chaos

The alcohol and psychosis

I’ve known my parents to be

Feelings of uncertainty wash over

This house is no longer my home

No longer able to shield me

She would always say,

“This is your home as much as it’s mine. Just come.”

No invitation needed.

But she is gone.

He is now too.

Where do I go now?

Who will I turn to?

This home is now just a house.

The walls that once held me

now feel cold, silent.

The key still fits the door,

but it doesn’t feel the same.

It’s just a house.

It’s no longer my home.

It’s empty.

The world feels so big,

and I, so alone.