Rachel Cronin

Rachel Cronin won first place in the Housing Leadership Council’s 2021 Youth Poetry Competition, K-5 category, for her poem, “All That Matters.”

Poem on Belonging

ALL THAT MATTERS

Home.
What is the meaning of home?
It’s a place where
you can Connect
you can Laugh
you can Express
you can Cry.
Home is the deepness in your heart
The shallows of your emotions
The positive thought of always belonging.
Your home holds your true self.
Your home holds your companions,
the companions that will stay with you for the rest of your life
whether you are close or far.
Home will leave joy.
Home will leave hope.
Home will leave fear.
Home will leave adventure.
Home will leave love.
Home is where you’ll want to go at the end of the day.
No matter what you are feeling or experiencing,
It will all flush away as you enter the comforting environment of home. Your home may be big
Your home may be small
But whether it’s a shack or a mansion
or even a place in your heart
all that matters is what it means to you.

Copyright © 2021 by Rachel Cronin. Used with permission of the author.

Rachel is a contributor to the collaborative poem, “The Many Voices Word Karaoke”.