Difference in Elevation

Returning to a homeland that is not native
Seven years passed since I laid my head here
The leaves tremble and flicker in the elevated air
And I hang my arm out the window mindlessly
watching it blur

Blocks of mountain rumble down the slope sides
bordered by pine and aspen, filling my eyes with memories
Shallow water hugs the turns of the highway
Smells take turns between sweet and smoke

I can't differentiate between now and then
except when wisps of hair whip onto the bride of my nose
reminding me of where I am

This is where I went to live
It's where I returned to think
I watched asteroids streak across the sky
as my back rested on the frozen ground

In all this time it hasn't changed
The air still breathes in the same way
The sun lights the spaces between the trees as it did years ago
I still fill with wonder as I wind up the chilly pass
as if I didn't know what was around the next turn

I drift back to my younger self
Feeling the carefreeness of the alpine day
Meditating on how events have altered so much in me
yet this place, in its unfeeling perfection, remains unscathed.