summer ramblings

the horizon blurs into a mess of golden dots

half-glowing in the early sunset, and

the shoreline into greenish brown, swaying

slightly and I can't tell if it's the long grass in the breeze or the angle I'm at

as I tilt my head farther into my friend's shoulder

and squint my eyelashes to the moment just before they close,

noticing subconsciously that the toadstool-printed towel we're on is rumpling under us

as all my best friends, clustered around us on their own towels,

damp from our soaking wet hair, lean in and our laughter

echoes

although there's only sky and sea for it to bounce off of,

and the bloody-ish juice from the watermelon we ate

is running down all of our chins, and there's a black seed stuck

in between my front teeth but I don't care

because next week elementary school is over and we're gone

and I won't see these people my lifeline my real cousins

until the trees are set aflame and we breathe in apples and middle school,

and suddenly the sky, now black velvet poked through with stars,

is erupting in redyellowbluepurple streaking

and the fireworks are reverberating through the universe

and I'm laughing madly

kind of sounding crazy

but who cares

it's summer.