Epilog
Why is it that thoughts about a hometown keep creeping back into our
memory? Many people want to get away from the place as soon as
possible. Especially if their town is small and offers only limited
possibilities and resources. Many find their surroundings wearisome
while others leave in hope of finding a more pleasant climate
elsewhere.
There are, however, those who remain in their birthplace for a lifetime,
happy. They learn to accept what their town has to offer, find that their
talents and services are needed and appreciated, find fulfillment there.
Between these two extremes are those who have settled in some
distant place, prospered and found satisfaction, and yet they feel a
yearning for home. Pulled in two directions they sense within
themselves a deep rootedness and a strong bond with their place of
birth.
Perhaps that is the dilemma of the author of these poems. He spent
his boyhood at home but left as a young teenager and only returned
from time to time as a visitor. What is more, he has spent the greater
part of his life, some 40 years, in a foreign country.