8 Miles until Home

After watching the movie "8 Mile" (featuring my hometown of Detroit), I wrote this poem. It was late, about 2am...but eh, I'm a night owl.

Who says you can’t go back home?

To me, it’s just a f*****g lie.

And to be perfectly honest, it’s

Really more of an alibi.

 

Everywhere I go, I leave pieces,

And there are things I take with me.

The smell of dinners late night, the sight of

New animals, plants, and flowering trees.

 

Cities, towns, suburbs, and country,

I’ve been through each and every one.

Who knows? Only time, when Death finally decides

That I’ve traveled enough and my life is done.

 

I’m forgetting to mention that in these

Wondering and wandering times, all the people I’ve met.

Those who taught, abandoned, strengthened,

Loved, lost, and more to come, wanna bet?

 

My heart is in every place and person

Along this path I tread…

What makes these things so very special

Is they make me forget the dread.

 

Home isn’t where you’re born, or even

Where you lay down for sleep. It’s

The hundreds of “inbetweens” and

All the memories you’ll reap.

 

I have to admit, there are moments

Where the night seems it’s most bleak,

Those dark times that I remember, although

I wish from my brain they would leak.

 

Remember? Remember what? You ask,

Confusion in your face and eyes.

I’ll never tell, that’s my concern, but

If you wanna know what I hide…

 

Follow the trail of where I’ve been,

Where I am, and where in time I may be,

And soon…you will see that your own

Home has always, and will always, be with me.

Author's Note

Thoughts? Feelings? Comments?