i go to places i used to know
and stand on tall rocks to feel tall as well.
the places that seem to only exist in memories,
that feel small when you travel back years later with grief crawling up your back.
it feels like coming full circle,
from that past moment up until now.
it connects perfectly;
the cycle is complete and you have journeyed a far ways since.
except now that you're back the sunflowers seem to droop
and the ice cream tastes more foreign than you remember.
still,
there is a small piece of home that remains.
a familiar thing that is no longer entirely familiar but it's something:
a little shard that lingers among the ruins of childhood recollections,
and it is inside of you forever.
you carry that spark everywhere you go,
and things change but that light doesn't.
you are still you,
but a different you,
different along with everything else.
yet that's okay,
because even though your hair may be a new color
or you grew a few inches,
when you sit down it feels like you are a kid again.
and even though your dad is somewhere far away,
it almost seems like he is going to call for you and tell you that it is time to leave.
you'll go home after that and continue with this new life
while forever holding onto your old ones.
