I can feel last summer’s ghost
and the summers before that feel quite the same
they run together in rapid fluidity of campfires,
swimming in the lake, sun-kissed cheeks,
and long trampoline talks
I can still hear the beer cans crushing
marshmallows melting
mountain pies searing in the hot coals
laughing in the dark
our voices echoed on the trees
and the moon lit our faces
as we swam in the waters that knew our skin
just as much as we knew the clay beneath our feet
wrapped in towels and blankets
our bodies wet
our spirits high
watched each other grow under those stars
the Big Dipper always in sight
it seemed to hold us all in its palm
huddled together in experience
a life we shared only with each other
the things only Central kids knew
safe from the world afar
it was just us out there
we were all we needed
water ripples gently
our feet reach the shore
I guess this is what if feels like to grow up
to look back
fondly