Someone walks back into the home they grew up in and finds it feels foreign. The speaker compares this to landing on another planet, where even the trees seem to sway in the "wrong colors." Nothing has physically vanished, yet everything feels slightly off, including the family, who seem like "Aliens" next to the people the speaker remembers.
The speaker hides this discomfort. They smile wide and say hello, offering what they call "the best fake." The image of a hand that no longer fits into an old impression is the poem's clearest picture of change: the speaker has grown, and the place hasn't grown with them. The mood is quiet, wistful, and a little lonely. The final stanza doesn't solve anything. The speaker lets a tear fall and looks ahead toward "where life takes you," which suggests a sad but accepting step forward, away from what home used to be.