Nothing had changed save for the faces

being a little older than what I was prepared for,

nothing was different except the for the skyline

having been hijacked by a view that was out of place

and nothing had altered at all,

except for my perception of a world I hadn’t seen in three decades.

I looked around me and what I had left behind

and the sweat ran down my forehead, blistering

as it mixed with tears of regret, kept hidden

and just what might have been had I the courage to say no,