A Decade Later

Ten years gone, friendships renewed, sites revisited

I walk the streets like a native, my new tongue guiding me.

Yet the memories haunt me, the apartment where I stayed,

the restaurants we ate in, the sites we visited.

Like water flowing, time passes, but the pain remains,

five days burned in my memory, those that should have been a joy.

But like the shattered love, the ice has melted,

and my connection to this ancient city is revealed.

Decades past, and in this nation of antiquity and empires,

I forge a new path, renew connections, and begin... again