Home is…

Home Is… was a wonderful collaborative project with Nova Singers, Laura Lane, artistic director, and several young poets from the Galesburg area elementary schools. The subject is “home” – what is home, what gives us a sense of home, where do we belong, and what happens when we emigrate to a new place – can that become home as well?

Here are the poets:
Jonathon Bailey, 9 yrs old, Costa Catholic Academy, 4th Grade, Mrs. Marasa
Caroline Baxter, 10 yrs old, Gale Elementary, 4th Grade, Mrs. Bevenour
Sophia Kisler, 10 yrs old, Costa Catholic Academy, 5th Grade, Mrs. Marasa
Mia Lopez, 10 yrs old, Costa Catholic Academy, 5th Grade, Mrs. Marasa
Alexia Miller, 11 yrs old, Steele Elementary, 5th Grade, Ms. Hellenga
Lucy Raymond, 10 yrs old, Gale Elementary, 4th Grade, Mrs. Bevenour
Charlotte Warren, 10 yrs old, Gale Elementary, 4th Grade, Mrs. Bevenour

It has been a real joy to be inspired by their words.

Performance note: the rhythmic time-keeper in measures 93-140 and 148-156 is labeled as claves, but could be anything practical – a different instrument, tapping feet, clapping hands…

HOME IS…
Home is where love is…
Where you can be sad,
Where you can be happy.
Home is the place you leave every day,
Where you fall and where you rise,
Where you can do anything,
Where you can be anything.
Home is where you feel safe,
Safe and loved.

Home is the blanket my mom pulls out of the dryer.
Home tastes like the cake that my mom cooks.
Home feels like my dog cuddling with me.
Home looks like organized books on a bookshelf.
Home sounds like someone saying, “I love you.”

For me, home is in two different places.
For me, I am part of two different races.
My first home was across the land and sea.
That’s where half my heart will always be.
My second is here.
Oh, can you hear
The instant chatter,
The silverware’s clatter,
The call to home
For the days to come?
Even with your heart in two different places
You can always call both home.

Home is love.
Home is family,
Rich in kindness and joy,
Where your heart abides,
And where all your hopes flourish,
Where love is endless, everlasting
and eternal.