Summer Sweetness

We are so young, 

And only getting older by the day. 

But summer is a suspension in time:

The sweetness of rain,

A soft sigh.

What do I know but nothing?

My mother says I’m stubborn like her. 

She’s right in a way that makes me ache.

But I’m young and sprightly,

I’ll learn from all my mistakes. 

This summer, 

I am ready to forgive. 

I let everything roll off my skin like water. 

I’ve missed chlorine and aquamarine. 

A boy I liked so many years ago kept me in his close friends list,

And though he's sweet,

He doesn't compare to the love I feel now.

In my friend’s airy laugh –

It's gotten lighter over time, I hope she's healing good.

Or when a friend went to the Trevi Fountain and forgot to make a wish 

(Too consumed by a cannoli, which fell apart in his hands.)

I tell him a late wish is poetic.

I’ve prayed and wished the same thing all summer. 

Each time, it’s been answered –

A hand in mine, thumbs rubbing,

Fingers up a friend’s nose, 

Play-punching bare knees. 

The muggy heat of a car, a single star in the sky.

I want to suck every mango pit dry, 

And let peach juice roll down my chin. 

I’ll eat watermelon with so much noise,

So much sweetness,

Only the cotton of summer can soak it up.