I leave this place of youth

Of juvenile mirth and

Adolescent questions

With the man- child inside

To step into the world of adults

To leave a mark that I was there

Years passed I yearned

To be in that place again

Once in a while

But never to stay

For echoes are heard still

Of cheers and jeers

The cries of joy and

Of muffled sobs and tears

To see this tower and hear

The trolling of its bells that

Mark’d times that were

So fleeting

So remote

Yet so close to my heart

And realize I started

In my grounds of this place

My so-called life.

And so I see again

And trysting corners where

First i met my life

The hollowed places I still

Remember and see in dreams

Awake or asleep

Where the seeds are planted

Of those I still hold dear

As well as the gnarled roots

Of feeling that I still fear

Again I come back

From my vagrant gypsy life

To this same place that struck me

Like a sharp-edged knife

Where the dust swirls

Where the leaves whistle

And seemingly and rudely

Welcomes me back.

And so I saw again

The faces that once knew my name

Of people I remember

From a half-forgotten past

Thrusting their hands

To shake mine and say

“Hello!” Lte’s start all over

What, again, is your name?”

By: Salve V. Calderon | T-II | BNHS