Nostalgia

So many places, faces, ways around this world,

It tastes like the daylight is my story untold.

That canal is filled with memories,

Like blood rushing through my veins.

Those Third Avenue lights will always be the same.

The scent of the maples,

The grass beneath our backs.

Stars in the sky, stars in our eyes;

The dawn's about to crack.

Late nights, just right,

With nothing left to lose.

I thought those Wisconsin nights would last forever,

Who knew?

The palm trees and summer lights

Just might put off the fight; 

At least for a time.

The walls came down in St. Augustine,

Those old-town lights were like a dream.

Maybe if you'd been in front of me,

I would have been able to see.

Your light was there, shining bright.

But I preferred the night.

I thought it was my right to choose,

And this time, it wasn't you.

Arms looking for someone to hold,

With a heart searching but growing colder

By the minute, because you're not in it.

Head bowed, eyes closed on bended knee,

But what's there to see, when this heart is still so weak?

You reach for my hand, not a first-class act.

You're holding my heart, but you still see my back. 

Then it became clear as crystal,

My bags were packed out of head and heart.

Everything I had fought for

Went running with a head-start.

The chase began,

Lonely no more.

Forget left, right, and behind,

The only direction is forward.

Gasping in the humid air, I say a prayer.

With a tear-streaked face I taste

What I'd been missing:

Mercy undeserved,

Grace for open wounds,

A curved appetite for what is right,

Praise on my breath, 

And a second chance in my step.