I feel as if I awoke in a gentler time
People dressed in clothes that come from a distant past.
In a town were culture meets old time country values
Everyone moving to a different yet gentle beat of their own.

Friendly yet guarded, the youth never quite looking your way
In fear of a connection in an over stimulated society.
Mothers and fathers protecting their young
Exposing them only to what they hope will carry them through to adult hood, but never quite sure.

Oh but the proud people of age - now that is another story
Staring you right in the eye, smiling with a taunting glimmer
For they know what you're thinking - laughing at the thought
That we might know what is to come.

Big or small, white or black, the flow of life in this quiet town
Moves just like the falling leaves on a cold chilled night in November
Set adrift by the loving warmth of the tall oak ready for its long winter sleep
Ah yes, the life in a small town.

Now that I look back at how my life started in this town
I wonder if I made the right choice.
The fear of the past haunting me like an unseen ghost
In the old brick houses standing dark and broken, not unlike the lives I have touched.

For the fractured mind I live with
Is this small town to save me from myself and the demons within?
Will this be the time that my life will calm to a pace of less confusion?

The cool mornings in the garden, working the soil
Keeping my mind clear of worry
The warm afternoons sipping tea on the porch
Writing long stories of the constant state of motion and confusion.

Ah yes, the evenings as the cool breeze returns
To comfort my soul after a long summer day of reflection.
Will this place keep me from hurting others?

My constant fear, the inability to control this unfocused mind
Keeps me from living but what is living?
Am I not a mother? Am I not a wife?
What is living to me?

What have I accomplished? Where have I been? Where am I going?
As I thirst for knowledge, for a moment of escape
The reflection in the mirror my eyes tired, helpless and wonder.

I just keep looking.