Nostalgia

It starts with a gentle pulling sensation
Somewhere in your chest:
The stubby fingers of your inner child
Tugging at your heart.
“Do you remember?” she says.

So you find your case of old CDs
And listen to the songs you grew up hearing.
Each one brings you a memory of
A first love, a first regret, a first rebellion.
“Do you remember?” they sing.

Maybe then you'll visit your hometown.
You'll wander down the streets, full of
Faces that aren't familiar anymore.
At night you'll run your fingers along
The bricks, the stone, the stucco houses.
Do they feel the same?

Does the air taste as sweet as you remember?
Do the stars shine as bright as you remember?
Does the silence and solitude still wrap itself around you
Like the curtains you played hide-and-seek behind
Or the sweater your first love gave you?

When you come back to your current life,
You'll try to leave your inner child behind.
And maybe for a while you'll think you did.
But she'll be there with stubby fingers
Ready to pull again at your heart,
Always whispering: “Do you remember?”