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)