A journey into the past

We made a slow drive to old Penang city
A small island a hundred miles to the north
To meet with old friends from our university
Not knowing what the day will bring forth

It was a little more than five years past
Since we last set foot on the island shore
And now we have the chance, at long last
To see what for us it has in store

While driving through each busy crowded street,
Past each rustic shop-house, each transient shadow cast,
The city seemed not to have come forward, for me to greet,
Instead, I felt, I have gone back to its lingering past.

Soon we arrived, somewhat dazed, at the old hotel
A towering twenty-storey resort by the beach
For my wife, this place rings a nostalgic bell
For she had been here twice, for courses to teach

The grand old tower has not changed much
Over the rippling course of flowing time
From old wooden panels that felt rough to the touch
To the wobbly taps and the sound of lifts arriving with a chime

There was but one journey left for us to complete
To which this long awaited trip must pertain
It was a journey not by any road or street
But one to be made on memory lane.

To be continued . . .