I want to go back to when bubbles popped in my hair

When mosquito bites littered my lanky legs and I caught fireflies midair 

Back to when chalk dusted my rough rhinestone pants 

Back to when I loved to dance

I miss the soft sunsets of a summer’s long day

A masterpiece to wrap up the evenings play

A fluid vibrancy that never seems to lose its grace

Orange streaks of fractured sunlight that warmed my face

I can still taste the cherry syrup of a popsicle as it drips

Melting in the midday sun and red staining my lips

A breeze blows and stirs up the scent of that old plum tree

Honeysuckle and muscadine, the sweet nectars of childhood greet me

Take me back to when the mourning dove was summers playlist

When I giggled with my friends and the grill hissed

When cicadas chirped in the muggy heat

When I whispered to my parents “goodnight” from under my bed sheet