POEM: Journey's End by Joshua Stewart

[streetpoet]

i came into your home
through the front door
for lack of a better entrance
the scent of incense
wafting through the cool night air
the candles all around the room
illuminating an eerie glow
that reminds me so much of your soul

your prayer rug
left in the corner
half-folded and unused

your buddha statue
dusty and rejected
on the stand

your cross
hanging uneven
on the wall

and you were nowhere to be found
gone off on your spiritual journey
no goodbye, no dear-john letter
just this lost and confused
religious inner sanctum
which has now transformed
into a house of ill repute
and comfort

where did you go
when will you return
my thoughts ponder
the unanswerless questions
as the mattress springs
creak familiarly
under the weight of my body

i lay there and stare at the ceiling
the same ceiling i've gazed upon
for so many nights
before the disappearance
writing about all there is to know

i think of all the wonders
you have seen
the places you have traveled
the holy grounds
that your feet have touched

i ponder the secrets you have learned
what do they mean to you
how have they affected you
have you found the truth
that you so desperately sought?

i sigh
and the evening air
crystalizes as it leaves my mouth
and suddenly i realize

that the journey is over
there is nothing more to seek
it has ended

i am home

© 2003 J. Stewart