somewhere in the twilight of your life,
you will begin to look back.

you will look to the sea of stars
and find that slowly,

one by one,

those white dots are winking out,
and the night sky is now an unfamiliar place.

they say that the past holds a different country,
but the future holds a different you.

a you that is tired,
clothes tattered from the running,
a brow used to sweat and a collar used to tears.

a you that is happier,
content in the hours of the morning
when the world speaks to you in its silent rumble.

a you that is jaded,
shoulders sagging with the weight of a life time of memories
heavier than any burden or chain.

a you that is wiser,
words wrought from the experience of burned fingers,
coffee-stained dreams, and unlit cigarettes.

a you that is older,
with a tapestry of stitches and scars
scribbled haphazardly on the skin of their back.

life is meant for mistakes.
after all,
the best stories are written with your feet,
in the pages between passports,
along trailing tattoos
and on the back of a paper napkin.

maybe in the future,
there will be a you
that doesn't remember home,
in the rush of the present.

home might look different now,
faded in sepia and steeped in the color of the past,
but always remember
it's been waiting for you since you left.

don't forget to visit.