I see around me these fragrant streets,
That I found while seeking flowers as a child.
Now I watch as they yawn, hollow and still,
As twilight has driven life from its rooms.
And I stand there, a fool in a worn-out show,
Amid false facades clinging to its memories,
Like a body warm enough to cradle close,
Until I lay it back in its casket once more.
And in the evening’s hush, I’m haunted by days
When these streets sang with children at play,
When I wandered deep in apple tree shade,
I, who once wondered at this world.
And it stirs in me a love for life,
For each ordinary day I’m still given,
Finding, in the end, nothing more than this—
To love well what I’ll soon have to release.
–Tuomo Syri (Instagram @tuomowritings)
Nov 5, 2024
Nov 5, 2024 at 2:58 PM UTC
I see around me these fragrant streets,
That I found while seeking flowers as a child.
Now I watch as they yawn, hollow and still,
As twilight has driven life from its rooms.
And I stand there, a fool in a worn-out show,
Amid false facades clinging to its memories,
Like a body warm enough to cradle close,
Until I lay it back in its casket once more.
And in the evening’s hush, I’m haunted by days
When these streets sang with children at play,
When I wandered deep in apple tree shade,
I, who once wondered at this world.
And it stirs in me a love for life,
For each ordinary day I’m still given,
Finding, in the end, nothing more than this—
To love well what I’ll soon have to release.
–Tuomo Syri (Instagram @tuomowritings)
Shatter this poem—tell me what stirs you. Be shameless and merciless!
