Summer Lilacs

 

I used to dream of summer

From the depths of lonely thirteen

Disguising myself as a stray blossom

As I lay curled beneath the lilacs

A whisper of freedom within my soul

 

Fireflies lit my imagination 

As I crossed the vast expanse

Years gone by

Tears gone by

Lost, largely untouched

Remote as a nightbird winging across the sky

 

Summer returned me to myself

No longer severed into bits of flotsam

Casual cruelty embittered my body, my mind

 

If i could find her,

I would apologize for not defending her

As no adult ever did

Leaving me to flounder in the choppy waters of school days

Speaking rarely

Being, rarely

 

Lilacs grew and flowered again

As May spilled into June

And the last school bell rang

Setting me free

All of me

Once again

To be drenched in lilacs