I held my breath the first time I moved.
I cried while my cat screamed,
feeding off of my tension and the yelling
of the woman behind the wheel.

Like an automated sprinkler, my eyes
only watered when she was around.
As soon as I was alone, as soon as I was out,
The tears subsided.

Yet one can only hold so much in,
one can only endure so much before
the glass starts to crack and wires fray,
before the frayed wires spark the fire sprinklers
And the alarms blare.

I got in the truck with a smile on my face.
My head swayed to the songs that normally
made me cringe, the cat had no negativity
to feed off of.

Three hours went by quicker than the fourty five minutes
I first took. My muscles ached from carrying boxes,
but the stress evaporated with every step.
I was home and happy.

The wishes I made upon those shooting stars,
the wishes with tear stained eyes and a blood stained heart,
were answered and accommodated all along.
I just had to come **back home.