Yesterday I went back home again
Back where I was born, once more
The windows were all broken out
There was sagging hinges on the door.

The steps were all rotted away
For I'd been gone for many years,
I looked on what was once a thing of beauty
And slowly my eyes filled with tears.

I finally made my way inside
There I saw mildew and decay,
I touched an old iron bedstead
Where once I use to lay.

I knelt beside the fire place
Where we huddled in the storm,
It brought back memories of yester year
Where we survived without harm.

I slowly turned the knob of the bedroom door
And entered the room with glassy eyes,
For it seemed such a short time ago
That in this bedroom our Mother died.

I pressed my face against the mildewed door
And brushed aside the falling tears,
How time flies before our eyes
Could it be that many years ?

Slowly I made my way across the room
As I walked I heard the squeaking of the floor,
Sad memories fill my aching heart;
So I'll not go back where I was born no more.

I'll just let the good times suffice
And remember the times we spent with love,
Until that great reunion day
In the family circle up above !
 

                                              Carl L. Hempen, 1979