slow days inch along

toward the lazy hazy tumbling days

of summer

stare out the window

at rain hitting the stones

and race the raindrops as they rush

towards the windowsill.



engraving names on the woodwork

my hands are stained with blue ink

that leaves marks on everything i touch

the sound of the teacher's voice-

like syrup snaking through gravel-

lulls me into a gentle trance

where my three failing grades are forgotten

and my three half-finished projects

are just vague memories.



close my eyes



i can taste

blackberries soaking my tongues

ice cream flooding the soft pink concaves

of my mouth and sinking my teeth into

sugary sweet strawberries.



the smell of peaches and violets

drapes itself across the summer air

and the sound of ice-cream vans

and children crying in a sandpit,

of water splashing on tiles,

floods the ears like a carefully planned

symphony.



hot sun beats it brown-red trademark

across my bare back

and the heat is all embracing

all consuming

then, just when it is almost unbearable

a breeze slithers through my hair

glides across my skin.



one of those days that sink into the soul

and becomes one of the memories that make youth

one long summer afternoon of

dreams.



open my eyes

a page of notes sprawls across the blackboard

someone is whispering a story in my right ear

the ink has dyed my white t-shirt

a summer sky blue.



and there is nothing left to do



but close my eyes again

and taste the summer dreams.