It’s hard to believe the summer is slipping away and school days are here. The following poem shows some of my best memories of summer.
SUMMER CELEBRATION
By Janet Kaderli
Unpublished © 2007
After supper, as the summer sun slips from the sky
My brothers, sister and I go out to the backyard.
We take our places on the swingset and tire swing,
And watch the sun go down.
We look for the first star so we can make a wish.
One by one the stars come out,
And, like an echo of the starry dance,
Lightning bugs start twinkling around the yard.
We chase the flickering insects,
Catching them and cupping them in our hands,
Watching the come and go of their glowing lights
Then releasing them to fly again.
The deepening shadows put us in a spooky frame of mind;
We play hide-and-seek,
Jumping out from the shadows trying to scare each other
Then racing for base.
Mama calls for us to come in.
“Five more minutes!” we call back. “One more time!”
We stretch the five minutes as long as we can,
Hiding now as much from our parents as each other.
We get real quiet
so Mama and Daddy will forget we’re outside.
We lay in the prickly grass looking for the Big Dipper.
Although we won’t admit it we’re getting tired and hiding yawns.
This time when Mama calls we go in
Making plans for tomorrow
When we’ll celebrate the summer night
Five more minutes, one more time.
