sleepaway #2

birdsong woke us at five a.m., the washed-out dawn

altogether too bright. wake-up bugle wasn't til eight, time spent

rolling over and over listening to the screen doors slam.

flag & breakfast were subdued affairs, everyone still in

pajamas blinking back the morning fog. the breeze smelled

of damp earth & laughter as the sun stretched awake just in

time for camp pictures, where we all look

consistently blinded. it was already much too hot when we

got to water games - on land with a sprinkler & some buckets

because bacteria's claiming our lake for its own - but

shelter-in-place relieved us on both ends of lunch,

storms crackling far too close to stay outside. one spent

bored in the lodge, setting tables & playing idly with a glistening

bottle of hand sanitizer; the other unleashing itself just

as we were all safely tucked away in our cabins,

writing letters home. the rain pounds away outside. sometimes

i think it may never stop.