Summer Souls Poem by Leah Ayliffe

The remnants of summer past
Glimmering beads of cool water dripping from my fingertips
Lazing by the poolside
Sipping on a blue straw
Devouring the needed desire of booze
In warm afternoon hours and slowly fading sunlight
I dream a little dream of who you might wanna be
Where you might be driving to
If my crazy mind and body are occupying your gorgeous mind
I shade my eyes to cover the soul hiding behind
Without a care in the heat, filled with pretty lies
Party the hot days and nights away in dazzling movement
A motion, a notion, a way of life you and I can sway to
It simmers down as autumn comes around
The lazy days of wonder seem to untie not so kindly
I remember how lost I became last year around this time
Not now though, it won’t begin again that way
I have a new idea stirring around
Futuristic images of beautiful memories to be had
Where I’d like to be
Do you see them too?
All the speculation of what to come and what has already taken place
Holds too much interest to me
It is an obsession, an addiction,
Nostalgia causes a chaos inside of me
the past, present, future
Getting lost, losing all freedom
Orange, red, fires ablaze in falling leaves
Drifting through the air
Across the streets while the breeze makes them dance
Spinning up and around and around
What is love?
Can winter find such grace?
The smell of hot coffee makes its mark on my heart
The only magic that warms me in this time
This autumn is different from any before
There are footsteps wandering unwarranted across my thoughts
It could be happiness, or the undoing to an unbearable nightmare
You hold the golden compass to an undiscoverable mind
There is no map or special guide to the inner light
The body of darkness lies quietly waiting
While the curiosity overwhelms a man who dares walk the weeded path
Intertwined with vines and thorns around the body and the soul
It could be something beautiful
In all the shades of ugly combined to make one true luminous sun
To shine past galaxies to the coldest loneliest moon
I suppose that’s where I am
Somewhere waiting on the other side
I’m never too sure who this girl is that moves and speaks out loud
Running around the world going insane
Skipping in and out of realities harsh trap
I cannot survive if this is all there is
You might be the first to know that
Might be the first to know where to find me
Have an idea about the secrets and the gardens
The worlds I make and choose to reside in
How I miss those glorious summer days
Of barefoot walks and soft green grass
Singing in the backyard with a genuine smile
And easy dreams of where the sunshine might bring me by the end of its reign in the sky
To a place of sparkling stars on the streets and the night alike
Easy kisses, pretending to be in love
What is love?
Like this world, like your world, in any world
All we pretend is all there is,
And that is the magic of summer that I believe in.
I believe in blue skies.
I believe in all your pretty lies.