Seen from the air

Seen from the air, 

The house where we used to live 

Seems fragile; insubstantial; 

Hardly capable of carrying 

Such a load of happy memories — 

And then, perhaps not surprising,

 (When seen up close) 

So altered by those 

 Who’ve lived in it since we left 

That it’s no longer the home we loved 

And dreamed so long of returning to. 

It’s curious indeed, 

 How time can take old dreams 

And modify them, 

Changing them to reflect more fully 

Experience and shifting circumstances. 

Thomas Wolfe was right, I guess: 

You can’t go home again: 

As we evolve, so do our expectations 

 Of what home — and family, and friends — 

Could and should resemble.