Yellow

There was once a man
who dropped everything
to go on a journey
with the destination
of a place no one had ever been.
He had heard anyone was welcome there
and that past didn’t exist
nor present
only future—
lots of bright, promising future
with no beginning or end in sight,
only infinite potential.
Nothing required meaning
and nobody an ounce purpose
it was all optional
and one could simply be, exist
without all the pressure
of amounting to something more.
Everything was a brilliant shade of yellow
the kind that you look at once and go blind
so that you can no longer see darkness, if it did happen to appear
only golden, searing light
and perfection.
That’s what they all said, anyway.
Not one person to tell the tale had ever been to this dwelling
they, too, had heard from a friend of a friend of a friend
they all assured each other that they would go, one day
and that was enough to get by on for now.
The man, however, craved more
he ran solely off trust and hope,
left with too much fuel to sit in the garage on idle
and he had the courage to make that one day
today.
He forgot about his family, his friends, his job,
his responsibilities, his hopes, his dreams,
and he dropped everything
to go on a journey
with the destination
of a place no one had ever been.
Some called him brave
some called him stupid
and some didn’t call him anything, because he disappeared for fifteen years
without a trace.
The night he finally returned
he came stumbling into his house
face bearded and eyes hazy
looking for the life he’d left behind.
His wife’s once golden curls were graying at the roots
her soft blue eyes had been made hard
and wrinkles of worry were engraved on her forehead.
His children were too big for the wooden chairs he had made them long ago
and so they sat in the floor, without a speck of innocence left
entirely different kids
than the ones he had abandoned so many years ago.
At once, their eyes shifted his way
all the same unbearable blue,
a spark of hope ignited
somewhere in their souls.
The youngest child looked to her father
and asked him eagerly
whether or not it was everything he hoped for
to which he replied with a blank stare.
Several moments passed before he spoke
and with only slight hesitation,
he told her that he spent fifteen years looking for a place
that he could have been the whole time
had he only paid
a little more attention.