Today I am not flying to Houston but rather I am going to Iowa, the place where I was born. The heartland, the grass plains now in field corn ready to harvest. A simple place where the elms have died out and the Fox have bought back a part of their land and run a casino. I am not flying thru Denver where the airport built on sacred land but rather thru Vegas, the hub of gambling and entertainment, the vision of an eccentric.
My hometown has changed. Where there use to be three grocery stores now there is one. There are still a number of bars that line one street and no shoe store anymore. I remember Buster Brown in the shop window and a number of dress shops. Now there is one. My sister and I walk all day reminiscing childhood, the town’s dramas and a dad who drank too much. There is already too much extravagance in the world. Time to keep it simple.
Seasons move so fast
We are caught in the middle
How to surrender
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dVerse prompt haibun Monday and explain why you write the way you do
wordshophop 
The town in Indiana we would go when I was young has also shrunk in economic significance. It does involve a simplification for those, including some of my family, who remain there.
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Going home can tend to be nostalgic. The town near my home has become a thriving little burg, a stop on Old Route 66 for many tourists. Sadly, though, many of the tidy little farms are disappearing and barns falling into disrepair. I enjoyed your poem immensely, and the haiku as well!
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A wonderful description of coming home, Jane. The simplicity of mid-western town life and childhood and the underlying desire to introduce that into the complexity of the world we find ourselves in. Just beautiful.
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Going home can be nostalgic but also a disappointment if things have changed considerably. I like your ending reflection- keep it simple. It’s a challenge to capture moments when seasons change so fast.
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You fly from big city to big city – but yet your roots are with small town life. I am guessing your poems reflect that…
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The way you trace back your root, both in terms of where you don’t go and where you pass through becomes that place where you can keep it simple.
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I really enjoy reading about poets’ home scenery, the autobiographical snippets that show me another life. And you haven’t disappointed Jane. Your haibun gives me a clear picture of Iowa.The haiku sums it up so well.
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Makes me think of how much simpler life was in the mid 20th century…the good old days.:-)
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Never lose that “touch stone”. The simplicity of home will always ground you even if you haven’t been back in ages. cummings would say, “i carry my home. i carry it in my heart.” Keep your memories close no matter how much thing have outwardly changed. Love this piece, Jane.
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Love the Haiku, punctuates the prose perfectly!
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It’s hard at times to decide whether to feel happy and positive for simple things or a little worried about the crumbling economies and despair .. a thoughtful post.
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Your plainness resonates with my interest also — very refreshing
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