summer like apple core crunch,
an litany of swear words
in a girl flush-brown thick-screamed;
summer like learning how to speak
to strangers (conversating with the mirror,
door turned window – hi, hello, how are you),
chugging air like syrup,
a little too bittersweet (for girl
dreaming: thunderstorm/
crickets chirping/
giant birthday cakes);
summer like unfinished essays,
letters too sharp (tongue bleeding cement)
girl thinking scared/hair braided/glasses askew;
summer like ignoring the ache,
chocolate melting under her tongue
sheets shucked clean & girl
never asking what went wrong
(this time)
but she laughed at the boys shivering
under their own weight (a different
kind of cruelty learned at summer camp)
biting down on the ice-cream
melting in their hands;
summer like flightless birds –
sky turning fresh shades of broken,
girl mouthing bhajans at a bathroom stall;
summer like forgetting how to pray,
summer like singing at her friend,
summer like sore knees & scraped hands &
memories that stung in the daylight.