Poetry
Sun and Shadow
Childhood memories of summertime
Dripping dry, I stare
At the pavement
Undulating pattern
Of wave upon wave
Sunlight, then shadow
When the shadow comes, coldness accompanies
When sunlight appears, brilliant dryness arrives
Reaching my swimsuit
I wiggle in pleasure
Only to halt, erect
When shadow inevitably comes
Hypnotized, I wait for my friend
He’s coming, maybe
Who knew our road could be so mesmerizing
Time suspended
Did I already swim?
Perhaps my friend came before
Before the sun and shadow
The heat makes my head fuzzy
I should decide
Decide to wait, or to swim (again?), or to go inside
And literally throw in the towel
Into the upstairs hamper
And tuck in for the night
But I won’t
I’ll wait here, this time with eyes closed
I can feel the waves, feel the slight temperature change and shift in the wind
My hair dries in a muddled mess, squished against my head
The long yellow tresses
Sticky and wavy
Not attractive
But no matter
My friend will come and we will run free into the woods
Or maybe the crick
Unlikely to be in the pool again
We are responsible firstborns and the day is too far past for that
For now, I wait
Kept company by the clouds
The shade no longer alarms me, inexorable wave upon wave
Shadow and sun alternating together
As they will throughout my life
The sun is not always healing nor is the shade destructive
But I can feel the difference between the two
I accept each, and bare my face in open submission
Eyes closed
Mouth resting in a content smile
I was reminded recently of a childhood memory after seeing a similar pattern of sun and shadow this summer. It’s amazing how quickly we can be transported into the past from these deja vu-type experiences!
