A Distant Summer

Come on now, won’t you like to feel
That summer breeze again, on young shoulders?
Paddle fast, keep your head down and peel
The rubber off the tires, that smell of the moist grass!
You wanted to win the cake, but turns out
It was all useless anyway, the race a farce,
And your brother, the best man in the world
Gave it to you, even though he won fair and square.

Climbing trees, didn’t you fall?
And although it hurt like hell, the smiles
All around you were genuine enough, to dull
The crimson drops of pain, thorns removed,
You simply got up and started climbing again;
Where on the topmost branch lay the eternal view:
A horizon far away, the sun and nothing for miles
Except love, memories, one day to be nostalgia. 

And later, wouldn’t it be nice to head back in?
Grandma with her hair tied neat in a bun, she cooks
Apple pies, and her cat purrs, scratching her shin
And irritated, she gives her old legs a shake, her glasses
Come off her right ear and dangle midair,
As the cat still has its claws in her cooking gear.
Later she’ll call out, right before sunset,
And you all will gather in her garden, sipping tea,
Munching on the pies, silly jokes and eternal glee.