Tomorrow I return to my home in the West
To the crackle-burs and carelessness.
We'll light a candle to keep out the cold
And we'll wonder why we've become so old.

I ran away, or I walked away, or I flew away, who's to know
I'd have taken the train away, but the train's too slow.
I imagined myself a hero from one of my books
And heroes leave home without second looks.
Had I known that this home was my fantasy land
Things might have gone by a different plan.

The "Last Best Place" was a rubber band
Pulling me back from the Sun City sand.
But things took a turn, family torn
I next found myself Chesapeake warm.
It's a dangerous place the earth seems to hate:
Hurricanes, tornados, earthquake.
It made me long for my place on the lake.
Such a place, nature could never break.

I'm different now, my new home in the North
Finally I've taken the chance to step forth.
I like it here, I almost could stay,
But the meadow lark still sings my name.
It's just my fate; I'll never wait for too long
For some new world to call me in song.
I wonder, though, how much has changed.
Will anything that I know remain?
How will I know I am home again?

--It doesn't matter.
Tomorrow I return to my home in the West
Glacial runoff, this broken nest.
We'll light a candle to keep out the cold
And I'll understand why I've become so old.