“I can't go back to yesterday - because I was a different person then.”
- Lewis Carroll

A wanderer stands
At the end of a road
Questioning his actions leading up to this point
And where he goes from here…

His heart is hardened by years of hell
A golden, hardened heart, now broken
In the road, he sees his happiness
Misery, dreams, and fears

Memories of the people he knew
Faded, like ink on canvas
He remembers the love he once had
A single, black tear evaporates before touching ground

He eagerly wishes to continue on…

Then he sees a fellow traveler
Standing years across the pavement
He motions the feeble man to return
To the place he was last year
Gradually the stranger turns to the teen
His hands and face, weathered from seeking Ithaca
His eyes meet those of the young vagabond
And smiles, a reflection of a lifetime

He calls to the old man
In return, a warm, weathered, and loving voice
Speaks words of wisdom to the boy

“My dear boy, if you seek yesterday
You’ll never leave this place
You’re searching for someone else’s menmory
One less experienced and wise as we
That person disappeared that day
For he, too, was a memory
In the hearts of those who knew him
They see him as he stands today as another
As I am, as you are, and as we will both become
When the clock strikes twelve…”

The boy tries to inquire
Just exactly what the old man meant
But fails to find him again
Until he sees his reflection
And a young traveler standing in the road marking his life…