Collaboration with
Aytch Rae
A sip or two in the afternoon. After lawn’s mowed and weeds pulled. Small reward hot summer
Work. Side street patio, tipping back, eyeing passers-by and soaking in suds and sun. The last
bit of Twilight disappearing. Time enough for one more round to cool off a day spent
smoothing shrubs and forcing nature to look unnatural, meanwhile the dog chases butterflies.
These are the days dreamt of while cold rains pop up and clouds blur the days of Springtime
when furnaces grumble at howling winds and sun-starved bones shiver and creak.
Missing lazing days, when playtime was serious business, never paid in guilt. Lying on creek
beds watch trout break the surface, low flying bugs dinnertime afternoon naptime, ah Summer
Twining fingers, everything changes. Sun-lidded eyes open, awake to love’s Springtime
where everything is fresh and new and holds a seed of hope from beginning burst to last
Cautious clinging panicked enchanted, lost footing in a minefield of dustless butterflies
churning and burning a stomach. Turning a yearning until finally emotionally spent.
Years ago wonder was king, cracking eggs on burning sidewalks was one way days were spent
floating dandelion and roly-poly stuffed pencil boxes, millipede Moses adrift on the creek
washed out jars holes poked in lids filled with fireflies, homemade nets search the next butterfly
Avoiding stepping on cracks, smuggling out snacks, delicious perils of summer
clambering out the door breakfast in hand determined to make each and every day last
forever. Backpedalling bikes, steer the clock away from the bells of fall, and toward springtime
September boards, books, rules, stretches time on chalk racks. Run-on sentence ‘til springtime
and in the meantime, papers to be left unwritten until last minutet, school days misspent
each grade level burdens backpacks with more obligations. Wild abandon crushed out at last
on to college and on to career and on to spouses and on to children and all to soon knees creak
savoring memory remnants like sticky fingered ice cream drips, tasting every drop of summer
warm afternoon moments children reinventing cocooning emerging soaring becoming butterflies
Early morning practice in the pool, backstroke sidestroke American crawl and of course butterfly
Diving board: specimen on a slide. Microscopic between blue sky and water. Jump. Spring time
launch into clear blue sky then feeling cold kiss and silence of surrounding water. Summer
chlorine swirling weave between knees beneath the surface Emerge gasping, starving, spent
towel in hand feet burning from concrete, shuffle slowly to deck chair plastic straps creak
basted in cool blue pool, baked in sun, bellyful of snow cone. Each day better than the last
Sheet spread on grass bed, squirrels eye sandwiches from shade trees, ants scramble for last
crumbs fallen forgotten amongst empty cans silently oblivious above brightly colored butterfly
traces petalled love notes between distant flowers, pollinated breezes waft from sky to creek
pushing paper boats and cooling giggling children searching tadpoles sure sign of springtime
Specimens on dressers, shell heaps, ant farms, sea monkeys, jars of fireflies, their lights spent
So ends the long hot days, learning more and busier than school could dream of, ah Summer
And at last, after long mean winters, you find through half froze ground signs of springtime
Budding leaves, drier days, bursting butterflies emerging from cocoons hungry and spent
Fast flowing sticks clog the creek just need a patio beer to welcome the coming summer
