My story (also) lives here: Daise

A city girl
born to the crush of the crowd
raised in the roar of the street.
Where fresh air was a luxury —
a dream you had to travel for and
silence was a foreign tongue.

I drifted from one harbor to the next
a slow change of zip codes
each one quitter than the last.
I followed the scent of pine
chasing silence, I couldn’t name yet.
My soul was still a restless thing.

Until I found this sanctuary!
Where the air isn’t just breath; it is medicine.
The lungs drink deep of the emerald wild.
Where the earth offers gifts without being asked,
berries, mushrooms, and heavy boughs of fruit.
The forest is my neighbor, and the seasons feed my soul.

The chaos of the world is a distant thunder,
muted by the thick, green canopy around me.
Here, we respect the living—the leaf, the bird, the neighbor.
My soul has finally stopped searching.
I am grateful. I am grounded. I call this peace.
I call Espoo my HOME.