Unexpectedly,
With the arrival of summer,
A gentle breeze caressed
Her cheeks as she breathed in
The scent of him as he stood
At the edge of her doorstep.
She laughed and smiled, unbelievingly waiting for him to disappear;
And instead, he beckoned her closer.
With temptation pounding in her person,
She cautiously stepped away from her boundaries,
And for the first time,
She left her safety after years of wariness.
It was an unforgettable summer
Starting with the first night she took
His hand underneath a blanket of shimmering stars.
And she listened as the ocean ebbed
With the sound of his heartbeats.
For she was
Swept up entirely in his summer wave.

Time wore on.
She smiled as these summer leaves turned from the
Pleasant bright green to a
Beautiful golden maple.
She was discovering something new,
Stunned at the vivacity of the autumn
But unknowingly,
Unappreciative of the true value of what
She currently possessed.
She silently followed his feet as he took the lead through this forest,
With faith that their tempos would continue to align after
This autumn season—
She would never tell him,
Of the fear she secretly masked beneath her front
For many have said nothing
Lasts forever.
As these thoughts became more frequent,
The daily smile she would give him would continue to persist.

But she discovered it was true, for
Through her attempts of positivity,
She eventually lost sight of their pleasure
As he remained completely unaware.
In the end,
Believing in her façade,
Transformed her facade
Into a reality.
Summer’s blessing became winter’s burden.
And while the harsh weather waned on,
The leaves, which had defined their beginning,
Now were dead with the flutter of bleak snow—
Obscured in the rush of the current season,
With the sight of color was lost.
She still remained outside with him, unfeelingly holding his hand,
Away from her boundaries,
But in all honesty, she felt
Detached,
Distant,
Cold.
She longed to retreat—to seek shelter within her haven
She had left during those summer months,
And return to a place where she no longer had to pretend.
Eventually,
It was in this dark time, in the absence of him
That she departed,
As she only thought of herself,
Not yet understanding the depth of his love;
The depth that would soon be lost
The depth she would soon realize existed.
For although she had retreated, she too soon regretted her rash decisions
For underneath her shallow despair,
In her lonely and closed off safety,
She discovered
What she had not seen before.

She sprinted outside into the melting cold,
And called out his name as patches of green formed around her haven.
She hiked to the edge of the forest,
And climbed several mountains before finding him.
Out of breath, she screamed to grab his attention.
In response, he apathetically turned around, slowly recognizing
That she was present;
Unthinking and anxious,
She looked into his eyes for one last time,
Foolishly searching for their depth
And the beauty of color he presented her last summer.
Instead of emitting a sheltering, gentle breeze
He looked upon her coldly.
And instead of beckoning her closer
He told her to leave from his sight.
As the impact of his voice resounded within her,
She felt something deep within her break.
As she hurriedly returned to her shelter, slamming the door shut,
She shattered into unrecognizable glass splinters
That splayed among the wood of her room,
Encasing her pain inside of her walls for months.

She no longer noticed the shift of the seasons.
Her blinds stayed closed and door shut, as she
Continued to drown in the reality of his words.
She pathetically remained within her enclosure
As strangers knocked on her door with heartfelt concern;
She told them to leave, like he told her. And yet,
They still earnestly pounded on the barrier, persisting. Out of a whim,
She decided to open up—hoping his eyes would greet her.

Instead,
Light pierced her vision as her door swung open
And for a moment, the colors were hard to make out
As the blaze settled, the roots of summer took its place.
And she realized, it was the
Rebirth and Renew
Of Summer.
In that instant,
She was no longer a slave to the past,
For now she realized
The independence she had shunned was actually
A chance to explore this unknown present.
She broke free from her monotonous state and
Bolted from the door,
Enthusiastic to experience something new.
But in reality,
Once again,
Locked into the seasons’ continuous cycle.