Strange Familiarity

Shall I be overly dramatic today?
Perhaps not, just for a change
The scenery remains
So familiar, yet newly strange

That's the way of life
Everything suddenly going south
That's just the way I am
Too many words stuck in my mouth

The end of forever
Feels like so long ago
Yet I'm just beginning
There's so much I still don't know

A whole year gone and gained
Past sounds echoing through
Stuck in an age neither young nor old
Constantly finding and losing myself too

And where did all the time go?
It left with such speed
Always feeling so rushed
Yet the days are a slow bleed

And nothing's going to be the same
That was my proclamation
My small world kept growing
With no explanation

And so much has happened
It's been my busiest year
And so much has changed
Though I'm still right here

I've changed, and I'm still me
So familiar, yet newly strange
Traded old thoughts for new experiences
It's been a formative exchange

That's the way of life
Sometimes things go south
Eighteen was a trying year -
I still have a smile playing across my mouth

And too many words
Bleeding through my hands
And malleable scenery
With a nineteenth year's worth of plans