Summer is shedding its skin
leaf-strewn and breeze straddled
the nights never still
sirens crickets lost deliveries
fireworks or gunshots
the willows drying their tears
if you close your eyes
you’ll miss the owl
its careen through branches
the stillness on birch
if you close your eyes
you’ll lose another decade
its lightning bugs
its tiny miseries
if you close your eyes
you’ll feel the years
their subtle thrall
this cursory experience
a heartbeat or an eternity
unexamined feels like nothing
right now I’m aware
that I am the fool
and I have a world to learn.

Breathe in.