Fully Summer

June and July sleep soundly now,
their slumbers well deserved.
This boy made the most of their days,
so they rest,
having nothing more to give.

August prepares to join them,
though it remains awake
just long enough
for the boy to find a playground’s empty swing.
 
Despite his many adventures
over these months
it is not yet fully summer
until this moment.
 
This moment when,
after lifting him up,
the swing’s chains set free their grip,
and the world falls away.
They will soon grab hold, of course,
and return him,
but, for now, he flies.
 
He flies.
 
He flies to that faraway place
to which all children look when they dream.
What lies there is only for him to know.

In a few short days
he will be asked,
“what did you do this summer?”
 
In one moment, he flew.
 
He soared.
 
And he lived summer fully.

The chains,
as they do,
grab hold and bring him back.
 
This moment,
like summer,
like childhood,
passes too quickly.