in your hometown

music pulses through its veins
and smiles transform strangers into friends
there is sweetness in the air
that laces each inhalation i make

walking streets i wonder
what traces of your steps they still contain
which doorways you leaned on
and windows your bright eyes looked through
which patch of grass you laid on staring up at summer skies

i'm comforted knowing at some point this small patch of earth contained you
and so i rest in its tree tops
and gaze at its bright stars
content to be here
hopeful and happy
in your hometown

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interactions marked with
unbridled honesty
authenticity
enthusiasm for life
sheer joy
and careful consideration of shared belief
it is inevitable that you would be described as a 'friend to my soul'

and yet eloquence fails me
i'm speechless and my heart expands
with gratitude
and wonderment
thank you for reminding me constantly
of the standard of our aspirations

i hope you run through every open door
always taking time to jump into the air in your attempts to learn how to fly
and though i cannot predict where the days to follow will find us
we can rest in the knowledge that we spent them
in accordance to a greater rule
and that, ultimately, is the most precious gift we could give each other

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