Summertime Blues

I miss the barefoot
Bare-shoulder days,
The sun brushed mornings
Lazy hot afternoons,
Firefly nights;
Late night bar-b-que and
Al Green on the radio says
“Let’s Stay Together”.

Pink cheeks, nose,
Red lips dyed;
A Shirley Temple
Made by my Pop,
Extra cherries in
The bottom, a prize for finishing.

Watermelon seeds scattered
Rinds discarded on paper plates
Littlest children hiding in the bushes
From their parents;
Time for bed.

Drifiting up through the window
open mesh screen breezes
carry the laughter of the family
adults, caressing my sunspent body
to sleep.