No Longer Home Poem by Eric Niehoff

10, not just a number
In this case a decade
Not just coincidence
It sounds like decay

My childhood home
Lacks resemblance
To the images in my mind

The musician
Who played songs by ear
Now lives a continent away

The life of the party
Has died
With a needle in his arm

The adventurer
Embarked long ago
No intention to return

The convenience store
Boarded up
Primed for demolition

With friends gone
And familiar hangouts closed
This is not my home…