A Tale of Autocentricity

I return

to the same zip code

changed.

A stranger in a familiar land.

My gray matter, selfish it may be,

secretly hopes that people realize

these changes, these developments, this newfangled maturity

gained during the half-year's absence.

I have lived, I tell you, lived!

My gray matter, selfish once again,

turns a blind eye to the fact

that others have lived

just as much

in the same amount of time.

As a result,

I expect everything else

and everyone else

to be the same

as when I left.

The truth,

as it often does,

recently knocked me over the head

and set that gray matter straight.

...and I'm thankful it did.

---

Philippians 2:4