Alaska: Home Sweet Home

"I'll see you in September,"

I said so long ago.

As I left to find adventure

In the land of ice and snow.

For Alaska was a-calling me

Softly, sweet and low.

I couldn't quite explain it

It was just something that I know.

I forged ahead with head held high

And hopes were soaring so.

I'd packed my bags with all my things

And had them all in tow.

My first job was the slime line

And little did I guess

That doing this and cleaning fish

Was the worst kind of a jest.

So off I went to other tasks,

Each better than the last

And made my way, though slowly,

While learning from the past.

Months went by and then years, too,

(September came and went).

Letters to those I left behind

Were regularly sent.

And yet I couldn't go back "home"

and (finally) never would.

My heart belonged to another --

For Alaska was in my blood.

And the longer that I live here

The less I want to roam.

For luckily I've found it,

A place that's REALLY home!

Poems must include the writer's name, phone number and address. They should be kept to no more than 300 words. Submission of a poem does not guarantee publication. Poems may be e-mailed to news@peninsulaclarion.com, faxed to 283-3299, delivered to the Clarion at 150 Trading Bay Road or mailed to P.O. Box 3009, Kenai, AK 99611.