Home Again

Clayton Willis Powell 1944-2014

Home Again

They say you can't go home again

And I guess "they" should know,

But, oh, my heart is weary

And I want to go there so.

To sit on Daddy's lap again

And feel his love for me,

To hear trot a little horsey

As I sit upon his knee.

To see Mama in the kitchen

Doing what she loved to do,

To help her if she'd let me,

But she didn't want me to.

I guess it's not the home I miss

But the feeling that I had

That everything would be alright

When I saw Mom and Dad.

They say I can't go home again,

But maybe "they" don't know.

I think I'll close my eyes and drift

And just see where I can go.

I'll taste the fresh milk again

Still warm from the cow

And feel the earth between my toes,

Soft and loose from Daddy's plow.

Maybe I'll hear Mama call again

"Kids, supper's ready."

And we'll all go rushing in. She'll say,

"Wait for Daddy."

Maybe me, Sis, and Brother will go

To the creek and spend a day

Chasing after crawdads, or on

The pond bank's slippery clay.

They say I can't go home again

But maybe "they" don't know

If I close my eyes and drift

Just where my memories let me go.

Fleta Aday 1991