It is summer and yet
I am not a child catching butterflies
Gulping down sour lemonade until my tongue tingles
Running barefoot through the muddy lawn, stumbling into the pool
Water rushing up my nose, burning
Feet flailing as I attempt to handstand
I lose my breath blowing bubbles, coming up for air
It is summer and yet
I am not a child camping in the backyard
Sweating through sleep just to taste adventure
Catching fireflies that slip through clumsy fingers
Plucking flowers to tuck behind my ear
Wishing on weeds and the wishes come true, why wouldn’t they?
Squealing as bees land on my sticky hands,
Washing off the watermelon juice
It is summer and yet
I am not a child chasing my brother at the park
Coming home before dark, just in time for dinner
Smelling barbecued 100% Angus Beef Burgers and
Squirting too much ketchup on my plate
It drips down my wrists, onto my new white shirt
Sorry, mom.
It’s okay, it’ll come out.
It is summer and yet
I am not a child building fairy houses out of moss
Constructing stick roofs and collecting snails
Chewing sunflower seeds like Pa and spitting them out
Into the red dirt
Climbing fences like jungle gyms, jumping over into the neighbor’s yard
To bring back the ball that flew over the fence
Ripping my jeans,
Yes, I patched them up myself.
It is summer and yet
The days now, fleeting
I live through the memories collected over the years
Wondering
Where has all the time gone?