Familiar Roads

I walk these streets I used to know, Where laughter rang not long ago. The faces fade, the voices blend, Into a song that has no end. Each step retraces faded lines, Of distant days, of borrowed time. I watch the world, a passing blur, As memories begin to stir. On these familiar roads, I find, Pieces of you left behind. In every shadow, every turn, A love that lingers, faintly burned. There’s a bench by the old oak tree, Where you once waited there for me. Now empty leaves drift through the air, In gentle spirals, falling bare. And though the seasons come and go, I carry traces in my soul, Of laughter caught in whispered tones, Echoing through cobblestone. On these familiar roads, I find, Pieces of you left behind. In every shadow, every turn, A love that lingers, faintly burned. I know I can’t return to then, The life we lived, the world we penned. But in the quiet of this place, I feel your warmth, a soft embrace. On these familiar roads tonight, Under the gentle streetlamp light, I’ll walk with you, a bittersweet, Until the past and present meet.