June

Rolls in all sweet and salty. Our twin seductress,

her early morning gloom gives way to afternoons

that scorch the most foolish of earthworms; waiting

soil but inches from their drying bodies. Kids stay up

late, giggles echoing down the hall; live the waking

hours with popsicle stains across the front of every shirt.

Filling driveways with pastel castles and hopscotch mazes,

begging for snacks, begging for an end to their boredom.

I, too, become entrenched with thoughts of rebirth, of

unbecoming the self I’ve been since last September,

living day to day by calendar reminders and routine rituals.

Our reward for enduring is the fullest moon on the longest

day of sunshine. Everything illuminated. Asking us to

see ourselves in a new light. Asking us to shed the skin

we’ve been carrying through the darkness of winter.

Grab a nectarine hanging from the bountiful branches

and bite in hard to the flesh – let the joy overwhelm you.

Feel the gravity swelling inside you, pulling the tide closer.

Allow yourself to be carried away by the burgeoning waves.