Summer

1. (Glowing)

We were drunk.

Drunk on

summer and

sun and

stars in a clear sky.

They made us dizzy.

There were

sparklers and

pinwheels and

firecrackers that blew

up the red

hot July sky

and filled our eyes with flashes

They made me cry.

We were drunk.

Drunk on

dandelion wine and

chlorine and

bathing suits.

There were stripes and

stars and

blue,

white,

red and

gold-yellow bursts

overhead that kept us

dizzy

all through the seasons.

2. (Fading)

The sun is turning the sky purple

and there are explosions of leaves overhead.

There's a boy with a glowing hand and glowing eyes

drinking dandelion wine straight

from the bottle.

He's staring at the sun and holding my knee.

In the twilight, he's closer

to oblivion, where he'll learn to glow

all over.

It's the end of summer and I can smell fall in the air.

It's the end of something new and I want to glow too.

But the boy won't share his liquid gold

that holds him fast with strings of reality,

and instead, his grip on my knee tightens.

The sun slips behind the hills in sync

with the last line of light slipping through his teeth.

The glow of his eyes leaves then too,

lending itself to the stars,

who shine for me now instead.

3. (Evening)

Three months after

we finished playing out games

and lighting fires

our hands still

felt like dirt and

smelled like rubber.

When we entered the October country

we knew we couldn't last much longer:

You with your Catholic Saints and

Roman candles;

Me with my fireworks and

waterfalls.

Your old dandelion wine did nothing

to protect us or keep us

together anymore.

Your hand had lost its place on my knee.

I was too drawn to the magic of fall

and you wanted to live in summer forever.

So cold winds carried me off

along with purple leaf explosions

and golden dreams

while you stayed behind

in the soft grass of the past

sipping your spirits, pretending

I was still there.

In the winter

I'll light a candle

for the dead or the dying,

and listen to the wind

whisper your name.