a brand new city
and i have a key to the coffee shop
next door. 

my birthday was twenty-six days
after we moved four hundred miles from home.

i expected to spend a lovely day
with my partner
and my cats. 
and i did! 
and then i spent a lovely evening
with my coworkers
who are now my friends. 

they bought me wonderful,
personal gifts,
which could have moved me to tears.
not only are these friends good,
but they know me. 
they know me because
they listened when
i told them about
myself. 

after so many years of wondering who i am,
guarding my interests carefully
in case they aren’t good enough for strangers,
here i am,
in a new city,
knowing myself. 
here i am, in a new city,
freely sharing myself with others. 

it seems so simple now. 

but for some reason
i needed a chance to reinvent myself
to find myself for the first time. 

i needed a new city
and a key to a coffee shop.