Your Atlanta Home

I know I’ll still remember
The smell of million-dollar mansion
Within the four brick walls
Smells redolent of hugs and rainy indoor days
Candles cant match
And that I can’t blame

I can close my eyes and
Sift through the crackling vinyl
To see the room where we’d sleep at night, music transporting our dreams
Although several times the place had moved
It was still always me and you

Remember the downstairs space
Where it was always “we can”
All intents and goals, planned to be resolved with fun
Pillow fights and video games until the end of days
Before the moon had won

Man no one had a goddamn thing on us,
And I had never seen such a place
Wooden floors underneath bare feet
Umber, matched my haircut
Of a dreamy boy who never wore a shirt or shoes
And in your backyard, what a backyard
I still remember your smile in the sun
You remember mine?

And there were the tall trees
The dirty dusty play structure
The circle of stones
The garden boxes on the side of the house
And you waving your hand

They say it’s not the place
It’s the people
But you and that house are inseparable
I feel like I knew every corner of the place
Exactly how I once knew you
No space for secrets
Just too close for that
We would’ve seen

But it’s been so long since I’ve stepped in
That big big house
Seen beyond the cracked blinds
And with time, the more I forget, the minor details
Like the color of your eyes
And the way you laugh
It’s been too long
Since we stopped the soap
From going down the drain

This was the last year you live in it
Before you move out of town
And when you do sometime this summer
I doubt the sun will even shine
On it quite the same

We don’t see each other anymore
Even though we say someday we will
I feel it may not be that soon
But I guess when the day comes
I’d like for us to go back
Whether it’s 10, 20, or 30 years later,
Maybe your parents will have passed
And you’ll be given the keys to clear things out
Let me go with you so we can stand
In the driveway like it’s the first time all over again

The first time I went over for a sleepover
The first time I learned about
The rooms and the things and their whereabouts
As we pack sentimental objects up, I can learn over again
The space, every nook and cranny
Every dusty corner unknown

That includes you