Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Anxiety

There's a feeling in my heart
Like a tempest of excitement and fear
I'm about to start my away life
But away from a place my heart holds dear

I can't describe this passion
This maelstrom in my core
It's like a claw that grips my soul
But really it's much much more

This street on which I've lived
Grown up on, cherished, and love
Is a part of me, just like my heart
Like my school, my friends, and the oaks above

I can remember trotting down this lane
And running, and prancing, and riding bikes till my lungs could laugh no longer
With all my childhood friends
With whom sweet memories exist, and will always be remembered
I remember our sidewalk chalk houses
Our skip-rope stables for horses made of metal and rubber
The magical realm behind my house we called the meadow
With it's tire-swing and long grass
My front yard, with it's towering oaks
That dropped the millions of brown leaves I had to rake each year
My house, with it's sunny coloured rooms
My mother's kitchen, the smell of banana bread
Or my sister's brownies
Shreddies in the morning before school
Walking along the Morris Drive with my best friend
Late days after school at the playground
Late nights in my room defeating a piece of entertaining software
Reading at the kitchen table
Only to have mom take the book away
Friday nights with friends and fantasy
The living room always filled with relatives and family
The fire burning with hot chocolate warming my hands
Christmas time and the Millennium Falcon
Lemonade on a hot summers day
The arrival of a computer of my own
Lord of the Rings marathons
Long discussions with my father about the soul of man
Long hugs from my mother who will always love me
Huge smiles from my sister who makes me feel so much more than I am
Faith of a family that will never give up hope, or stop caring
There is so much that I leave behind

And yet I look forward to my dreams
Like the shifting white masses in the sky
My mind continues to tremble with excitement
About the wings that I will grow when it's my time to fly

I see a venerable campus made with gray limestone
History saturates the ground I walk upon
Possibilities multiply with every hello and handshake
And I learn about the people who were here once'pon

Gargantuan wings of rock
Flank the tower of my vision
Far below the red and white flag
That remains my committed decision