Last Words

Well there was bound to be a let down, how could there not be? It was the best summer of your life, after all.

Oh Austin... wretched whore. Once you were so young, so pretty, so thrilling to behold. I remember being beckoned into your dim chamber, drunk with possibilities. I recall being tied and bound, at your mercy, made so much sweeter by its rarity. It took discipline, but eventually you let me delight. I appreciated you like few did. You made me think I was the only one.

But I went away, and now I'm back, and though it feels like I've aged innumerable years, it's you who looks older. Used up. Predictable. Lifeless.

Okay, okay, I'm being hyperbolic. I guess what I'm trying to say is: being back in Austin ain't easy! It felt like I was making so much progress this summer, and now here I am and it feels like I've gone backwards. Like I've completed a difficult level in Mario Brothers, only to be deposited two levels prior! Like I'm forced to wear the clothes I dropped off at Goodwill six months ago! Like I'm a freshly aged bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon poured into an old wineskin (for you alcoholics and purveyors of religious metaphors)!

I dunno, it just seems like resuming my prior job, living in the same old house, walking these familiar streets... it's already happened! I want something more. I chose to live on a farm this summer in part because I wanted to see if I meshed with a rural lifestyle. Turns out I do! I love it! Especially when it's in a beautiful, unique, counterculture community like Takilma, Oregon! Oh Takilma, I miss you!

It could just be the tyrannical heat talking (it was 103 degrees today, 85% humidity), but I don't think that's it. Austin has taught me so much, but it feels like it's almost time to move on. Even after my widespread travels, she remains the city closest to my tastes and to my heart - but I'm afraid the country has woo'ed me away. Someday.

So this is my last post on this blog. I hope y'all have enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it. One thing this blog has made me realize is: I really enjoy creative writing! So much so that I intend on starting another blog solely for the purpose of exploring it further. If you'd like to continue on this journey with me, please check back at my website, dallion.com, for the latest in written and drawn stimuli. Until then!

- Farmer Dal