I wrote the following using an incredible technique that Melibee speakers Will McInerney and Kane Smego teach in their workshop called “Crossing Cultures in Verse.”  It has helped me to express so many emotions – re-entry or otherwise. This poem took approximately 9 minutes to write (really) – and I don’t have prior experience with poetry! Here are my thoughts about being home, 63 days in.

I’m home and the sun is finally shining

I am spinning to its rays

yet when I close my eyes, yo veo Cuenca.

The trail at home is different.

There is a familiar path

less need for a walking stick.

The car seems to rule the rythym here.

I feel a bit lost

dancing in the woods.

I can’t seem to sing the lyrics of my North American tune.

Re-entry is …

What it is.

Joyful

Painful

Confusing

Illuminating

I’ll continue feeling those leaves crunching under my feet

A reminder that nature is taking its course

That seasons pass

And it is my responsibility to keep Ecuador close

Like the backpack, full of fruit and sustaining water.

And when I struggle on the uphill climb

I’ll remember those down hills will come

In the form of a Spanish conversation,

connecting with an Ecuadorian friend

or making a new Latino/a one at home.

Grateful for countless experiences

Even if they feel like yesterday and a lifetime ago

All at once.

About the Author: Missy Gluckmann is the founder of Melibee Global. She and her husband, Tony, lived in Ecuador for 2 months and returned “home” in late January. You can learn more about why she built Melibee Global and her background here.