There we were,
under the watch of the moon
and the distant traffic lights,
swinging from rope to water,
diving, turning, spinning.
Drunk on our youth,
we divested ourselves of our suits
and let the water sink around our bodies,
which glowed with untainted whiteness,
Clean&*****;&Free;
all at once.
We told each other we weren’t self conscious,
and maybe it was true,
but even if it wasn’t, it didn’t matter.
I have never felt so beautiful and alive,
as I did the moment I paused in midair at the apex
with the rope strangled under my muddy fingers
and let go,
my naked body under the stars and the moon and the sky,
flying weightless
through the night.

Sometime
-certainly after I had stopped waiting for it,
and definitely when I wasn’t looking
anywhere in particular-
summer embraced me,
and I leaned into its chest
Our hearts beating together.
And we
-that is, you and I-
became pieces of the sun
and particles of the dark
dancing around each other
with our toes
only just
brushing
the blades of grass
(whose arrival had also evaded our immediate notice).
I was a lilac
and you were the wind
and I didn’t know
and you barely knew
me.
This is the breath of Summer,
poisoning us
like the smoke from the cigarettes our friends
exhale.
We say nothing
and move a little closer together.