The Memories Return Poem by W.I. Stoneberger

The long walk back through the twisting vines
back through the thick underbrush
back through a couple hundred towns
and a hundred times more days,

turning a corner
catching a glimpse
flickering along the edge
flecks of recognition faintly forming
into something that seems to be
a part of you,
something that you remember knowing
and then gone again.

It takes quite awhile to completely catch up
with them,
them being back there where they are
and you being wherever it is
you are by now,
having abandoned them
to some time before,
a place that you thought they belonged.

Now you find yourself
longing to embrace them,
to pull them close
letting them whisper their secrets into your ears,
until you remember everything
and it is all
a part of you.