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Welcome home.

I'm Dr. Tama, a minister, licensed psychologist, and sacred artist.

And this is Homecoming, a podcast to facilitate your journey home to your

yourself. While I will provide weekly inspiration and mental health tips, this podcast is not a substitute

for therapy. I'm so excited you're on the journey. If you want to request specific topics or share

your progress, email me at homecomingpodcast at gmail.com. Also, after you listen, be sure to like,

subscribe and share. Let's begin. Welcome home co-journers. Glad you're here for another episode of

the Homecoming podcast. And I'm excited. We have a poem on today. And to those of you who would

like to share your poems or vows, please send them to me at homecomingpodcast at gmail.com.

That's homecomingpodcast at gmail.com. And today's poem is from Cat Francis. And Cat is a

Caribbean American woman, a mother, a doula, a yoga teacher, a writer, and a musician. And I am

excited about your poem, Cat. As I read it to myself, I really, really enjoyed it. So I'm excited to

read it out loud on today. All right, this piece is called Aking for Me, which reminds me of our

first episode. I think when I talk about, can you admit that you miss yourself? Can you say,

I miss me, right? So I'm not sure if that is the episode that was the inspiration, but I love this

piece. And I read it now, Aking for Me. I am always Aking, Aking, Aking for love. It sits at

the pit of my stomach, panging, banging like steel pan drummers vibrating down to the souls of my feet.

It stoves and cooks, boiling and bubbling up. It steam rises to distilled droplets sitting at

the roof of my ribs. It drips down, disguised, transformed to longing. I am always, always Aking,

Aking for love. In the way the shores ache for the sea, though the sea always come back again,

though the sea never really leaves. In the way the oceans and rivers yearn for the sky,

...