By Martin Falatic
Written 2004-01-21
Revised 2004-01-21

How far I have traveled,
Only to find myself looking back
Wondering if this fork in the road
Leads anywhere at all…

I miss the long empty sidewalks,
Of a Saturday afternoon.
Riding a bike all day,
Stopping only to smell the flowers.

I miss the libraries,
In their scholarly solitude.
The student union,
And all its background chatter.

I miss long roads on lonely nights,
Laying under the stars watching clouds go by.
I miss whispers of love everlasting,
The tentative warmth of a first kiss.

I miss the chill of haunting melody,
Deep emotion born of soulful songs.
Being buoyed by hopeful music,
Carrying me through the day.

I miss the love of optimists,
And the heartfelt pangs of pessimists.
I miss the hugs, the laughs, the smiles,
Of all those loved and lost.

I miss intellectual freedom,
A not-world under the radar of greed and control,
Where words reach for the soul, not the wallet,
And ideas are for all, not the powerful few.

I miss depth of thought,
Probing unanswerable questions,
Learning that which is not practical,
For the sake of greater understanding.

I miss that spirit of hope,
A trust not alloyed with pain.
I miss my heart,
What left on the last train out of this place…

Looking back through a veil of nostalgia,
In false colors these moments are strewn behind me,
There is clarity in what was (and what was not)…
The future is but a mist before my eyes.

Or is it simply tears?