Memories of the last day of summer

Memories of the last day of summer

Yesterday was
said to have been the last day of summer
I rode out in a short
sleeved shirt, sun on my face, dragon on my back.
Things
between us haven't been so great lately.

The lonely
wheels of my bike spun faithfully, round and round
I went to
where I always go to have you with me when every mile between us feels
like a league
and looked out over the beloved view that always
takes my mind off my worries and back to you,
back to the
last day of our seemingly endless summer.

I don't
have to even close my eyes; all the sights, sounds, feels? they're
immaterial, yet more than real
We walked down the street,
looked for a potted plant? I can still feel the warm summer air on my
skin
Suddenly the wind begins to pick at my shirt, sending it
flapping against my back
I look up.
I'm back in
Holland.

More and more clouds gather overhead, not
subtly but like a big grey avalanche in the sky
The hairs on
my arms raise on end as I write words laden with melancholy in our
private diary
Sometimes I shiver a bit, from cold inside or
out, I know naught.

Suddenly the sun breaks through
the clouds in the distance, bathing the meadows in a surreal orange
light
Somehow I identify with the sun for a moment, trying
hard to pierce the coming winter,
trying what he can to keep
the world bathed in a warm glow
but inevitably being pushed
back
I sit and watch it with delight, indifferent to cold.


Sometimes, in unguarded moments, you can look at
something beautiful
and forget about the rest of the
world
even when it's creeping up on you from behind.

I know all about that?

The rain drop
fell.
They didn't begin gradually, like I'm commonly used to,
but within a few seconds, aquarius was in season

I
sped home, millions of the cold drops of water falling from the
sky
Trees seemed to offer some refuge, but when the wind shook
their leaves, this illusion fell apart quickly
I came home,
drenched, put on warm, dry clothes and listened to the falling rain for
a while.

The last day of summer was ending in rain,
signalling the start of something new
Things will be different
from now on
but summer will return
and in the mean
time, we'll have fun in the falling leaves, snuggle in the cold of
winter
and keep the heat of summer locked in our hearts.


(c) MdG 23 Sept 2003