The Two Lives I Live

Winter breaks, a fleeting dream,

Where time slows to a gentle stream.

California sun, familiar and warm,

A haven safe from life's storm.

Here, I'm a child, a daughter at heart,

Bound to routines that never depart.

The scent of home, the echo of youth,

A mirror reflecting my earliest truth.

But as spring calls, I board the plane,

A shift in roles, a shift in lane.

Ohio greets with its crisp, cold air,

A world of books and burdens to bear.

Here, I'm a scholar, an artist in bloom,

Building a life in a rented room.

Independence clings to my every stride,

But loneliness whispers, "You're unaccompanied inside."

Two lives I live, a balancing act,

Each pulling me with a different pact.

One for the roots that ground my soul,

The other for wings to reach my goal.

And yet, these worlds, though torn apart,

Are stitched together within my heart.

California cradles the child I was,

Ohio shapes me into what I must.

So, as the semester looms ahead,

I carry both lives where I tread.

For though they seem like distant streams,

Together they weave my brightest dreams.

~RMC