Homecoming

As I grow older,
I know in my bones
Home means more
than the four brick walls
I grew up in

My soul finds solice and center knowing
Home is childhood
Ephemera.

Summer nights steeped in sweet honeysuckle and wild onion shoots brushing past my bare feet.

Bonfire flames and laughter that turned
To crackling embers and hushed stories.

The sticky-sweet residue of crab apple tea
in tiny,chipped porcelain vessels
Made for friends unseen, but deeply cherished still.

Body and soul, home comes to me in waves.
Golden sunlight lapping over my body,
As memories of falling leaves and red rubber boots dance in my mind.

Kaleidoscope skies of bright ochre, burnt orange, and scarlet enchant my eyes.
and filled my periphery,
The dizzying beauty an annual comfort

Those fleeting moments of complete joy and abandon return to me,
though time slowly marches on

And I am
Home.