This Summer
By Sarah Perl, 17, Illinois
The weather starts to feel familiar,
Warmer days force me to remember
I see us running, barefoot and laughing,
Racing through backyards and bushes
May smells of freshly cut grass and gasoline
Stars blinking above us in July, holding our untold secrets
We drew our names in the wet sand,
Believing time would never wash them away
Now summer comes, but you do not.
Your kind words now like a hopeful breeze in the heat
I wonder when you pass the same streets,
If the memories pull at you like they do to me
The sun now sets, I understand its significance
It suggests the promise of a new day,
I can now find beauty in memories left behind.
I originally created this for my American Literature class. As I was writing, I was inspired by my own feelings and ended up putting a lot of effort into it.
