SUMMER Poem: Summer 1, by Jeffrey Beck

The bell rang
And we all leaped to our feet
Crowding the hall
With dreams of days filled with rivers
And fires, and bikes, and naps
Our excitement hardly contained
Could be felt amongst each other
School was out for summer!

The buildup was pressurized
With many a day spent
Daydreaming and planning

There was that week we spent
Chopping down trees
To build a raft
To float down the river
Like Huckleberry Finn
The crazy plans included:
Cooking on a fire and
Bathing in the dirty river water
sleeping under the stars
and using a stick to push off from the bank

Blisters were medals
Mosquito bites were trophies
The dirt behind our ears
Evidence of adventure
Legends we were
Pioneers
The saplings were magic sticks
Of ambition and dreams had

And even now, when I pass trees
Small enough to be chopped by hand
I think of the old days before
Life’s complications and funerals
The bookmarks of a boy’s summer
Now mark your passing and
I’ll never forget those carefree days