twenty-eight

when i die,
i won't go to heaven
i'll go to boone
for eternity.

because how could i want anything more
than those mountains?
hazy blue in the distance
but that green gold up close
so much more than i remembered
so much more than i hoped for
and the sky that makes me want to stretch out my arms
and touch all of it, everything around me
inside of me
and the sunsets that make my jaw drop
as i walk and walk
just so i can get a better look
just so i can feel it
just so i can hold on to it because it's
fading
so
fast

and every fading dream from memory
every moment slipping further
cannot compare to the bliss
of trodding through tall grasses
reaching high into trees that cradle
and lie on the cool ground just to see the sky
when that blue was all i could see i knew
that's all i'd ever need

and in all of its splendor it still feels like home
because its more than a place
its every kind word and every good thought
its every inch of sacrifice and humility
those mountains are my soul, sprawled out
in completion of my potential