Jamie

17

The Contrast of Childhood
Fireflies rose_
like prayers_
from glass jars in our hands,_
fluttering away_
into our bedrooms._
I think of this,_
returning to the empty house_
full of the past._
Now,_
the front door flakes paint_
and releases a breath of musty wood and stale dreams._
My shoes_
swirl dust_
that resettles in floorboard cracks_
long ago traced by sand_
and stir memories_
that sting._
Once upon a time_
gasoline puddles were rainbows in the gutter_
and the only luggage we carried_
was the kind full of favorite sweaters and blank notebooks…_
Crabs scuttled in buckets balanced on our handlebars –_
boiled and seasoned with Old Bay, their rusty shells_
crack_
open beneath wooden mallets and our_
greasy fingers scatter salt_
over the ruby innards of garden tomatoes._
We spit watermelon seeds across the porch_
and send laughter shimmering_
amidst the gurgle of the frogs_
living in the upstairs bathtub._
Our noses are sun kissed_
with freckles._
Coconut shampoo_
drips_
from the ends of our hair._
Before the world stirs_,
honeyed light spills into the kitchen,_
the kite lays unmended on the rocking chair,_
and we wonder what rainwater tastes like._
(It is sweet.)_
At night,_
the beach is cold silk,_
the moon sheens the ocean to meringue,_
and into our pockets full of swallow feathers_
we gather magic._
In the moment,_
we slide the carton of ice cream dregs and Hershey syrup_
over a tabletop spread with yesterday’s newspaper,_
our stories twist paths of words into the milk of twilight,_
and we believe in_
mermaids,_
each other,_
and forever…_
Once upon a time_
clouds frothed into fairy castles_
and our pillows were not stained wet_
from broken hearts._
Damp walls hum with stillness._
On a windowsill once decorated with sea glass_
sits a relic that turns my fingertips grey._
A child’s voice breathes–_
Listen - this conch holds the echo of waves._
I press the shell to my ear,_
close my eyes,_
and for one_
heartbeat_
imagine the thrumming wings_
of fireflies._
But the sound is only that_
of dead leaves_
dropping_
against the glass._