Wanderlust

I won’t read all the books that line the shelves of the world’s libraries

I won’t see all the places whose names I have jotted down in my heart's itinerary

I won’t experience three fourths of half the things I hope to taste, smell, touch, hear, see

I find my corner of the earth holds beauties like all other corners do in its own right

It holds an untapped potential of memories to fill a beautiful and happy lifetime

It is worth walking through, taking it all in as if I were a stranger to the land

But the longing will never leave my soul for the distant nooks and crannies I will never explore

For the spices my tongue will never savor and books whose binding will remain closed to me

For the scents that will never drift under my nose and bury themselves in my memory

That I might recall them when my legs are spent but my words still run towards listening ears

And I will still find the names of all those unseen places rolling around in my heart

Much like the groceries in the trunk of my car on the way back from the familiar grocery store

I love home with its doors and windows, gateways to my favorites faces

And rooms with drawers full of the seen and touched and heard and cherished

But a part of my soul will always wander the streets of pending adventures

And will wonder what would happen if I had enough time to follow it down to the end