The very practical approach to his problems, the absence of intolerance of any kind, the informality, the genuine democracy, the uncanny understanding which these people had were irresistible.§ 

“Welcome home!”
How silly the words
said to newcomers,
strangers among strangers,
fear-filled, angry, despairing.

“Welcome home!”
How true the words
right off, fresh out of the box,
said by people who seem
to have read your mind,
furtively watched you,
who know what nobody could.

“Welcome home!”
How prophetic, how right,
for once you sit down,
listen, feel, suspect the possibilities,
nowhere else will ever feel
so much like coming home.