05: Returned

Long years it has been

since I've walked this path.

Many ages ago it seems

since I've heard people laugh.

Here I stand once again

amongst the ruins of my past.

I reminisce on a former life

trying to make each memory last.

Now I painfully weave

the infinite threads of time;

each fragment being pieced

within the confines of my mind.

The melody of remembrance

seems more distant than near.

These delicate strains of music

I summon to my ear.

And yet the more I recall

the more I see the change.

This once too familiar place

how now grown . . . strange.

The trees, once tall and proud,

have become wizened and old.

Even the once bright azure sky

now seems dull gray and cold.

But even with the broken shards

of the glory days of yore,

I shall put forth my strength

and restore it to times before.

For I have returned . . .