There is something about the Appalachians for me too. I only lived there from age 8 to age 25, and have lived in California from age 25 to age 81, but California has never felt like home. The vegetation and topography of East Tennessee are the only landscape that feels like home.
An ember smolders now for years, with occasional and minor and unsustained flare-ups. I will have so very much that is new. And since all along I have written chiefly to clarify or preserve my own thinking, I will be doing a lot of that soon. I hope I can find a way to tell that story to my readers today and to perhaps a new group from closer at hand. Thanks for being along for so much of that journey.
from AI;
Finding Home
In the quiet corners of memory, Where sunsets linger and whispers echo, I seek a place called home.
Not in bricks and mortar, But in laughter shared around a table, In the warmth of a familiar embrace.
Home is the scent of morning coffee, The creak of wooden floors underfoot, And the soft rustle of pages turning.
It’s the garden where flowers bloom, Their colors mirroring our dreams, And the sky that cradles our hopes.
Home is the rhythm of rain on the roof, The crackling fire on a winter’s eve, And the quiet hum of a lullaby.
It’s the faces etched in family portraits, The stories woven into worn-out rugs, And the love that transcends time.
Home is where we find refuge, Where our hearts settle and sigh, A sanctuary in a chaotic world.
So I wander, seeking that elusive place, Knowing it’s not a destination, But a feeling—a sense of belonging.
And when I find it, I’ll know: I’ve discovered home.
"Oh the green rolling hills of West Virginia**
Are the nearest thing to heaven that I know
Though the times are sad and drear and I cannot linger here
They’ll keep me and never let me go." -- Utah Phillips
** - or Southwest Virginia
I have no doubt that you will be able to find a way to share your new story, in a way that is as enthralling as your writing always is.
There is something about the Appalachians for me too. I only lived there from age 8 to age 25, and have lived in California from age 25 to age 81, but California has never felt like home. The vegetation and topography of East Tennessee are the only landscape that feels like home.
You are such a good writer!
An ember smolders now for years, with occasional and minor and unsustained flare-ups. I will have so very much that is new. And since all along I have written chiefly to clarify or preserve my own thinking, I will be doing a lot of that soon. I hope I can find a way to tell that story to my readers today and to perhaps a new group from closer at hand. Thanks for being along for so much of that journey.