hello salyersville

i suspect i will miss

the early morning coffees

you and i shared

with rushed horns honking

at stubborn redlights

a few cars up.

hello parkway

already i long

for your supple curves

which i sped down

on so many bitter winter nights.

hello elk creek, lick creek, bloomington

i shall miss the songs and words

i spoke and sung only to you

on the summer evenings

when dusk choked me

and nostalgia first bloomed.

hello magoffin

for it will never be goodbye to you

you know my secrets

i have shouted them to your cluttered hills

and your ancient oaks

i have whispered them into your gentle winds

and i have flung them

into your darkest nights

yes, you are the shelf

on which i’ve hung

my most desolate hours

my brightest smiles

my heaviest tears

and my deepest longings.

your rivers will always flow

with the scent of me

amidst the murky waters

so that even if

i am never to return

a part of me will always be

home.