The Return

[Sunday Scribblings prompts us this week with "pilgrimage." My dictionary defines the word as "a pilgrimage is a journey to a place that has religious or emotional significance."]


The Return

She hates going back there,
to the place of her birth,
but she can't help returning,
like the tongue to a sore tooth.

She packs her dwindling collection
of bright memories, then sees
them dim and tarnish with news
of each dead friend and closed store.

At the lunch with friends, hoping
to share news of children and
grandchildren and vacations,
she endures a recitation of obituaries.

She can't wait to drive away again,
vowing not to return
to the place filling up
with tombstones of her past.