A Wistful Ode to Yesteryears

Out on the beachside balcony
I’m just there — Standing, staring
I’m watching the ocean just after dawn
trying to get my bearings

A sea-salty wind blows towards me
The curtains float in the breeze
I’m reminded of the family vacations
we used to take with ease

My emotions stir, emboldened
My heart all confused and aflutter
Each trip gets increasingly harder
How many more times will there be another?

This silent worry weighs on me
One day, this will all be no more
Sentimental places will be left behind
along with the Emerald Isle shore

No more evening hot tub dips
No more ferry rides
No more low tide seashell hunting
No more tanning by the poolside

Goodbye to my mom’s childhood homes
Goodbye to Dewey’s bakery
Goodbye to all the restaurants we love
Goodbye to all the sightseeing

I won’t get anymore tacky shirts
I won’t get anymore beach souvenirs
I won’t be able to have that fun
that I’ve enjoyed in yesteryears

This inevitable reality
leaves me sorrowful and wistful
as I stare out at the rising sun
The scene is serene and blissful

Over the sound of the crashing waves
my mom calls out to me
She tells me there’s one hour left
before we have to leave

I say “Okay” then turn back around
I’m already completely packed
I chose to spend the last of this time
praying that we’ll eventually come back

Soon enough it was time to go
I tried my best not to cry
Knowing that I might never come back
I left and said goodbye