Homecoming

How long has it been since I last stood here?

Five years? Six years? Surely not more.

Not long enough for anything to change.

 

Basement smelling of earthy wood in winter

Faded dishes stacked neatly in the cupboards

Toothpaste in the cup to the left of the sink

A place for everything and everything in it’s place.

 

How long has it been since I last stood here?

Five years? Six years? Surely not more.

Yet long enough for everything to change.

 

The dog and cat have passed

and been replaced with newer models.

Not replaced. Perfectly fine in their own right.

But still not the same.

 

There’s more Shredded Wheat than Golden Grahams

and I’m sleeping the the Guest Bed – my Parent’s Bed –

as my former room is now a study

with two French doors.

 

There’s WiFi now. Just think of that.

And the woods I once ran blindfolded

are convoluted with unfamiliar twists and turns

confusing my search for familiar landmarks.

 

How long has it been since I last stood here?

Five years? Six years? Surely not more.

My childhood home is no longer home;

I am a stranger in a strange land.

 

The Photographs

[click any picture to scroll through the gallery]