New Jersey 1979 Poem by Gina Teel

Remembering those endless days
yellow summer stretching slowly out
Us, that rowdy bunch
barefoot in high grass
Each tomorrow an unopened box

Bicycles grown weary from use
stick legs fierce, magical, willing
pedals to push forward into open spaces
not yet occupied

Forts and cowboys, plastic swimming pools
cooling the burning fires in bellies
The hunger yet unnamed
Room enough here only for wishes
and swings and popsicles
bleeding red rivulets to dirty elbows

Forever and six more days of honeysuckle
Air heavy with sweetness
Wary only of the lamp posts
Those stingey harbingers of unplayed tag
At dusk called home, muscles tired
aching of bliss

And the next day and the next day and the next
Bags full of miracles
Lie in wait