You Can't Go Home Again

"You Can't Go Home Again"
the words of Thomas Wolfe
seek, but you wont find
the days remembered of your youth.

Smiling thoughts escape my mind
hearts so young, and heads so light
the promise of tomorrow shined
in each new day, each reckless night.

Fringed with melancholy
recalling faces of old friends
talking to myself, I ask
why can't I go home again?

So, I hop inside my car
a trip to places of my past
I arrive at my destination
sadly, nothing was made to last.

The dirt roads are now covered
the farmhouse is torn down
there's no apples and no orchard
just an unremembered town.

There are no friendly faces
not a soul I recognize
time has warped my little town
the proofs right there before my eyes.

The past should never hold us down
to the present that we live
that old and vibrant memory
takes much more than it gives.

There is nothing sure in living
we're not sure when death will win
but I can attest to the honest fact
You Can't Go Home Again.
©J.V./2012