You can never return home?

Someone once said,

“You can never return home.”

It made me wonder,

What had this person known?

When it came time for me to roam,

To venture from the place where I had grown,

I hesitated in my leaving,

Thinking about that person’s reasoning.

Heavy became my breathing,

Whenever I contemplated that saying's meaning.

Terrible feelings in my sanctuary began to loom,

They grew stronger as I packed up my room.

The time was near when I’d soon be far from here,

Yet I was already seeking a way back home,

To that place where I never felt alone.

Even when I was surrounded by my family,

Heavy thoughts found ways to drown me.

On my way out of town,

All I wanted to do was turn around.

Wishing for the stoplights to turn red,

They all turned green instead.

Thousands of miles away,

I was homesick every day.

Despite making new friends,

Nothing was helping my heart to mend.

Then it came to me,

Why not just pretend?

What was home anyway,

Other than a feeling from within.

With this idea my heart urged me to begin,

It didn’t take long before better feelings surged in.

I started envisioning my favorite places,

And soon started seeing familiar faces.

Transported to times I thought were wasted,

Became so real I could taste them.

All the memories of moments I had collected,

Ones I was fond of and even those I’d neglected,

Now held new meaning for me as I reflected.

As I laid wrapped in a visceral gallery,

It became clear what returning home meant to me.

All this time I had been fearing a saying,

Another person’s philosophy I was obeying.

Home was not a place I could return to,

That much I agreed was true.

The truth to be known was something I hadn’t suspected,

How life was always bound to change,

Just like my perspectives.

Now whenever I start to feel far from home,

I move back into my heart by reading this poem.