There it stood,
Not as I remembered it.
That piece of wood that was once part of my life.
I never remember it having been rough and cracked.
I watched as it sat there, splitting,
Rotting away the memories I once had.
Water stains, creeping up the sides
Come to rid me of my past.
I felt intimidated by this piece of brown nothing-ness,
That long ago was something much more.
It had worn out greatly since last time I was here.
The past seems very faint to me,
Fading and chipping away, as did the wood.

I wasn’t ready to say goodbye.
Goodbye meant everything I’d ever known
Would no longer be.
An empty hole where memories should be,
But weren’t. How could everything I’d known
Be wrapped around this simple piece of wood.
How can it all be close to the end? A whole
Lifetime of memories, ending in the blink of an eye.
Soon I’ll leave and have nothing
To return to.
No returning to what was familiar;
It is time to start anew.