Still Water Beneath the Moonlight

The summer before college was a time of long nights

One evening a group of us flew into the slinky velvet sky

from a rope swing into a deep shadowy lake

Naked and almost unafraid

blushes just visible in the bright moonlight

our last-gasp romances piled up like car crashes

in our yearning to freeze time

Herbal tea in the misty dawn outside the tent with mom

Bears had passed by in the night but must not have been hungry

We drove up a mountain and then back down again

In the dark the crickets party hard

A payphone clicks, my tears are salty and sweet

such heartache is fickle youth

I walked alone in the dark

barefoot through the sand toward the deserted lake,

felt no fear as I sank into the water and let my weight go

wondering if I could float there forever in the oneness of stars and water

Slept under a full pink and yellow tinted moon that seemed full of dreams

and ready to fall from the sky

The summer fireflies shone so brightly

we laughed and tried to chase them

as they disappeared into the black air and shivering trees

do they know their time is fleeting