Summer wheeled in
all red white and blue handlebar streamers
and baseball cards clicking in her spokes
nickels and dimes jingling in her pocket
to spend on lunch counter cherry Cokes

Summer stretched days out longer than a Hotwheels racetrack set
melted rainbows onto t-shirts with popsicles
made dares to jump homemade ramps and eat sweet clover 
At dusk her presence was permission to dangle bath-damp legs
from the front porch swing for an extra half-hour