Bits and Pieces

Summer

Summer.

In between school years,

where homework and classmates and

what everybody else seems to think is 'in'

doesn't matter.

In between binders and folders,

pens and pencils,

the pages of textbooks and composition books.

Summer.

The sweet smell of roses

blooming under the sun.

The trickle of sticky peach juice down your chin,

fibers getting stuck between your teeth,

but you don't care because you're reading a really good book,

and stopping to floss seems like too much work.

Ice cold water after a game of soccer,

the clinking of the ice cubes reminding you

of every burst of laughter following those missed goals.

Times spent at a park,

couples on benches,

kids chasing each other up and down the tickling grass.

Amusement parks too,

shrieks and screams filling your ears

as you laugh with friends

while smells of fried dough and sugar fill your nose.

Summer.

The rustling of pages in a filled notebook

as the wind blows your hair

and the sun makes the words glow on the page.

Fireflies lighting the world up,

one bug at a time,

their bottoms creating a spectacular sight

that surprises you each time

with how cool rear-ends can be.

The heat of midday fading into the cold-as-ice-cream chill of night,

where stars will find the night sky

and dew drops will speckle the ground,

beads of translucent gems that make your feet wet

as soon as you walk upon the earth.

Watching the moon change each night,

the clouds' path of migration,

and you're sitting there thinking,

legs crossed and eyes cast to the heavens,

that if summer could stay forever,

you'd let it.