Hometowns

A Hometown
Yours or Mine
Are unique places
There is only one of them
It is wherever we were born
We may have moved after we were born
Or we stayed for the duration

Some have left and never returned with no regrets
Some have left and returned feeling a connection
They only found there in their travels
Many stay because of family
Some are afraid to leave the known

To some it is a longing for connection
To someplace familiar
To others it is a place to hide
From the world of reality
“This is my home, that other place,
Is where I work”

Our hometown is not perfect
We know it’s not
We readily admit it
Bit it is ours
People from our hometown seem to fit
The characteristics and flavor we
Like to assume it is

We have our traditions
Our festivals
The annual events
The local sports
Concerts and movies in the park
All the same yet different
From your hometown

Small towns that are villages of closeness
Get caught up in growth
Or rather how to grow without growing
The knowledge that growth causes loss of
What makes it our town
Its very uniqueness
It is challenged by the outside to change and grow
Our hometowns could be a hamlet
A village
A town or city
A metropolitan area
In each is a section that is ours
A security blanket of sorts
An area we can relate to
It may not define us but
It could help to explain us to others

Our first move away can give us perspective
Of that we have never seen
Experienced
Or imagined
Other places feel alien to us
They aren’t home to us
Though the longer we stay
The more comfortable we get
But there is still that underlying feel for
Our Hometown