I'm home

Driving along an endless road,

Each mile crossing over to my past,

The memories of the place where I’m going

I missed it so terribly so…how surprising

The house I lived in is gone

An empty lot in its place

The people I have left….

What road would have been taken if I stayed?

There’s a nervous flutter in my chest.

I remember the scent, the colors, the sand

The hills have not moved,

The sunset still cascades over them into the valley

Illuminating my desert in hues of purple and gold

The crimson in the distance blinding

The cactus and Joshua trees still remain…

But this is no longer the home I remember.

The tumbleweed blows in the wind,

The haze of the sand in the air,

I exit the car and hug him tight,

Wondering if this will be the last trip

Wondering if he will live to the next one.

But oh how precious life is!

It throws us out of the nest regardless of will

I will be lifted and saddened all the same

But this is the way it’s supposed to be.

For a time I will forget who I am,

And find myself inexplicably all the same,

My wisdom will transcend the oblivion,

The ties that bind me here are of my own making

And I should not regret the way things are.

And come what may,

With elegance I will try to take it in stride

For these will be the times that I recall

Ages and ages past, these are the days where I smiled

And these are the days that I died inside.

I will admit I do not know the answers,

Admit that I have not the wisdom

This stillness in time flies too quickly

I can only hope I can take what I can

And let the rest go without regret.

For this sand here in Antelope valley,

Is the sand where I was born from

And where I will bury the one I respect

This sand will be what I remember when I’m old

And this sand, inexplicably will be thought of

When I take my last breath no matter how much I change.