youngest at the tiki party

I can hear the party still going 

starting in the kitchen,

spilling into the dining room 

and out onto the deck 

I hear the sound of fizzy champagne filling crystal glasses

and the dull clunky sound of ice in a cocktail shaker 

dad is laughing now as he mixes drinks

a bold, boisterous laugh that makes him sound young

young like me. 

one of the guests plays a jerry lee lewis tune on the piano;

strong and pure rock and roll, 

deliciously simple chords, 

and a classic melody 

making us all feel young again 

mom and her friends dance in the magical glow of metal lanterns 

which cast shadows of hearts and stars onto the grass beneath their feet

and tiki torches stand tall

stabbed into the soft august soil

forming a path lighting the way to the bonfire

at the bonfire

I lie back in a lawn chair

staring at the sky 

smoke wafts upwards

and sparks fly from the fire 

dancing like faeries in the wind

I let myself drift off

hawaiian music plays from the turntable inside

and in the heat of this night

the magic of youth is alive

as summer fades away