A Place You Cannot Return To

This is what home is -

a place you cannot return to

Here, let me remind you:

Home is where you went

between your brave adventures

Where you once rested

your summer weary head

on grandpa’s shoulder and told him

about the dragon you had just slayed

What will you do after lunch?

Grandpa would ask with interest

Conquer a new kingdom

was always your answer

Home is where you spent long hours

making ‘soup’ from mud, leaves, and pebbles

Where you presented your bowl

to grandma with unshackled pride

Grandma would take your offering

and pretend to take a sip, with a smile

What is your secret ingredient?

Grandma would ask with interest

Magic

was always your answer

Now, you tip your head up to the azure skies

And think of summer

Of home

Of dragons slayed and kingdoms conquered

Of soup made with handfuls of magic

Of afternoons spent under the balmy sun

In the quiet company of your blazing

imagination

It is summer now

And you are on your way home

But you realize that you must have

buried some crucial piece of yourself in the

courtyard of your grandparents’ home

Now a pile of rubble, half a world away

Because nothing feels like it once used to