‘This is Home’

I remember the view from the trees

The sound of the falls calling softly to me

They asked if I could hear myself

In the gentle breeze

If I would chance the towering branches 

Long enough to glimpse the world 

That belonged to me

There is no escape here

No cover of pines to disguise my fear

No shelter in this city

Its meadows are bare

There’s no adventure 

No straying down dark paths

Where anything could reside

Where few would venture

There is no place to hide

The city swirls around me 

Noises I don’t recognize 

Bounce from here to there

My sense of direction in decline

Change is all for the better

But I miss the comfort 

Of warm sweaters around the fires 

That we used to build in secret places

They would always take us away for a while

To a realm of second chances

Do you remember? 

The stars and how bright 

They were that night

When we sat on the river 

Giving thoughts to what might really matter

In a far off future;

Remember when we all knew each other? 

All the times we prayed to get away from that place 

Because what we were really afraid of 

Was our desire to stay?

Just to stay around the town we called home

Afraid that we weren’t ashamed enough

Of the place that we came from

And we complained that we didn’t see the sun enough

So we had to leave

Because no one gets famous

Under the cover of trees 

Nobody could find happiness in old houses

And who can see beauty in a town 

Drowned eight feet deep

Home to me will always be

The sound of trees

Swaying in a gentle breeze 

Accompanied by a stream

That leads to a bridge over the water

And as the night grows dimmer

You might just get to see

The lights on the river