By Scarlett Mosher, TIWP Student

Sickly sweet lavender,
sweeter than rainbow popsicle stains.
Sweeter than sunlight and curling rose leaves,
lazy shadows on sunburnt legs,
spiny hands of oak leaves beneath t-shirt backs.
Suffocating summer air,
stuffy and pressing, a hot towel to a sick forehead,
tasting the hum of bees,
echo of pool water shifting in the hills.
Stretched days pant with a drooling tongue;
the clock ticks slower to savor its summer time.
Tears dry up before they can leave freckled cheeks
as summer sun moves to summer night.
A twilight symphony,
of curling smoke and firefly flutes.
A midsummer’s night dream, sharp grass playing Shakespeare’s men,
and the ladybugs play the pearl-donned ladies,
laughter fills the lanterns,
warming the temperate night.
Hot-tub bubbles floating towards the sky,
the smell of chlorine and stale baby carrots fill the air,
dawn breaks
and the day starts again.