Time Traveler

by Celestial Lentz

A bit of a misconception is that

I came back for some great battle,

War for the future determined in the past

Somewhere in this meadow with the dew clinging

To the back of my shirt

As a blue, blue sky untouched by the smoke of spring fires stretches above.

Couldn’t be more off with a guess as inaccurate as predicting

If it’s going to be a drought for years to come

or rain so hard through winter

That ghost lakes seep over farmlands,

Swallowing up roads on the edge of the horizon.

It’d be nice to spend the next few decades

Being able to enjoy the spring,

Cool weather that lingers instead of spikes,

Bakes the face and dries the eyes of tears

For stabler times.

Maybe some would say I shouldn’t have smashed my way back,

Buried the shiny metal pieces deep in the ground

Submerged in the oil that’ll be the first cars driving towards the end.

It’s impossible to regret that though,

With the clear air sliding easily into my lungs.