It took me by surprise,
And it dropped me to my knees,
And I'm not even sure what it was,
But it was powerful,
And it was good,
And in a foreign way,
It was familiar,
And that was the oddest sensation of all:
Hmmm; familiar,
But I still can't tell you why.

I think it may have been a smell,
One traveling on another plain.
Or, maybe it was just a sense,
Another sense; one of knowing,
That someone was there,
But not knowing who,
But, once again, a feeling,
Of someone familiar,
Following...
Me.

Where has everyone gone, anyway?
I'm sure you know them too,
For just like me,
Your life has been filled with them.
But now, for the oddest reasons,
They are gone,
And now I walk lonely streets,
And I contemplate feelings familiar.
And I smell smells,
And I know that I've smelled them before,
But for the life of me,
I just can't tell you when or where.

On trips, you would expect it,
And being lost,
While mildly disconcerting,
Poses no immediate threat.
You take your map,
And you plot your course,
And soon you reach your destination.
But you are home now,
Amidst familiar faces that you cannot recognize.
And the nervousness begins,
Deep within your soul.
But nobody has to know,
You tell yourself,
As you stand tall,
And look as if you've been here before,
But inside,
You are reeling,
And you're sure that everyone knows.

In earlier days,
You could have stood inside a stadium
Filled with your friends.
Today, there are one or two,
That you can call on the telephone.
And so,
We must measure the depths of our existence,
And take an accounting,
Of what we have to offer,
And of what we may have given,
And we wonder what it was
That has spun us into this reverie.

It must have been a smell,
Or just a feeling of something,
Familiar,
That once brought peace,
And comfort,
And an easy love,
That we carry throughout our days.