My hometown continues to change

As it always has around the memory of myself that is stuck in 2018

My hometown reminds me of how I have not moved on

Before I left, I tried to bury my truth here

I vowed never to come back and dig it up

I thought burying my truth was moving on

I only moved away

Now

I’m “back”

I’m staring at my grave

At the spot where I held my funeral and pretended to bury my body

Jokes on me

The body I buried is alive

It waited for me to come “home” to laugh at me

I didn’t bury my body; I stowed it away in another city

I’m staring down at an empty grave

Here, I tried to bury a girl who was sad and lonely

Here, the same girl begins to fill the hole with dirt

My hometown welcomes me

I promise it that when I leave

I’m going to burn everything instead of burying it