Shimmer

In ordered rows,
with elbows propped,
as every eye snuck glances
at the creeping clock. . .

till, finally,
that freedom bell!

And summer started
to unroll,
a shimmering road
to anything at all.

What happened to those
languid river-days?

The bike tire crunch
on gravel roads?

That jump-and-splash
and swing-me high?

Those sit-and-talks
and trade-you-this-for-that?

Now it seems that
Summer
merely fills four pages
and it's gone.

If anything
it's just too hot
and leaves us craving
cooler days.

But somewhere,
on the edge of reason
(check your pulse,
and slow down time). . .

Summer still waits
shimmering.