Homecoming

My fingers grasp
At what they knew so long ago,
Familiar, groping, remembering,
Touching the curves, edges,
Corners, patterns of times long past.
My weary body hits the sheets,
My scent long fled, like a breath,
But it returns with glee,
Dancing around my body,
Licking at my face and hands,
Eager to welcome me.
It sits deep in the nest I left,
Twisted blankets, stacked pillows,
Infested by the crumbs of snacks,
Stolen in the night long ago.
My room remembers me.
It welcomes me home;
It has waited so patiently for me.
Sweet nostalgia.
The closet door creeps open,
Just as it did when I was young.
Now, the fear is gone,
But I push it closed from habit.
The sound of the highway
Through the canyon
Seems loud, and I wonder
How I ever slept with such thunder.
But it is familiar, soothing, gentle.
The imprint of my body
Left the mattress long ago,
But now it returns, grudgingly,
But welcoming.
Welcoming me back to my nest
That I left too long ago.