The glorious sun was out.

The rays

shining upon the white pearlies of my cousins,

The glowing melanin of their skin,

Appreciating the picture in front of me-

Except there was no camera needed.

The satisfying cool of the icy pops,

That were only 25 cents-

Enough to make our company

More pleasurable-

The blues, reds, greens, yellow-

The extravagant rainbow upon our lips.

We threw the firecrackers

Thinking we created fireworks

But I still saw the light manifesting in their eyes,

The same fire that was reflective in mine.

Their backyard was our shrine,

A summer ritual welcoming

The days of relaxation and joy,

A moment to enjoy the cheapness of a season-

We dipped our bodies

In the chilling water of

The inflatable pool, not caring what anyone thought-

I mean we were kids,

The age of vulnerability and naiveness,

When it was okay to be ignorant of the troubles

That escaped our perfectly imaged world.

As the sun began to set,

I began to cry-

Maybe I sensed this would be our last summer together.

As the tears streamed down my face-

Their hugs became tighter,

The scent of chlorine becoming stronger-

Perhaps they sensed the opening veil of the black hole

That will deepen,

like the evading distance created between each other-

Our guardians had to pull us away

Promising us the next day

We will lavishly live in the abundance of our icy pops,

A never ending party for our taste buds-

but it was a lie created to bring a bridge

Between an innocent love

That our parents forgot the meaning of-

As they broke

a bond that was never meant to be broken.

I wished I was selfish that day,

But our parents instilled in us that was not okay to selfish-

yet for them it was.

There will be a payday

For when we meet again

On that eternal summer day,

where love meets no ends.