I remember...

shorts, barefeet and bare chest
crawdad fishing, bike riding
creek wading, rope swinging
and
flower picking

Wild gallops on the ponies

hide and seek among
(I can almost smell it)
sweet corn stalks

kick the can and tag
sitting under the apple tree
eating ("they'll make you sick")
green apples

fish fries, carnivals
and
strawberry socials

making ("my turn to crank")
homemade ice cream

thunderstorms
                     rainbows
                                             making mud pies

catching grasshoppers
and
fireflies

  staying up late
and
sleeping on the floor

evening drives
and
  honeysuckle

hours of make believe
running like the wind
and
freedom!

August

August comes
turns up the heat
August comes
with no relief

the summer air lays heavy
encasing all nearby earth
even fireflies' frolic
has turned to more a dirge

everything moves sluggishly
slowed to snail's pace
the languid cat's indifferent
to the moth
he'd earlier have chased

Augusr comes
turns up the heat
August comes
with no relief

Serenade

Sweet voices of the evening
delight of summertime
do you sing to make the sun rise?
or to make stars brightly shine?

enchanting summer concert
echoing all around
do fireflies keep your rhythm
as they dance and flit about?

do you usher in the dreamtime?
do you croon the flowers to sleep?
and

where is your song in winter?
does it rest in slumber deep?