Summer
(What does it mean?)
Blue skies and bright suns.
Juicy plums and crunchy bread
(seeds falling onto the crumb laden plate).
Wind whistling through the gentle leaves of my childhood.
Light seeping through the cracks of trees.
Clouds coming and going, morphing into haphazard shapes.
Summer.
(What is it like?)
Early mornings, late risings.
Warm bowls of tea, fizzy drinks, and coffee.
Simple food. Sweet scents.
Long walks over pebbled pathways. Short runs on the tar lined roads.
Tall spiky wheat ; soft malleable moss.
Wayward streets lined with vintage cars and squeaky bicycles.
Summer.
(How does it feel?)
Sweat dampening the crease above our lips.
The surface of our skin golden-ing under the heat of the sun.
Cheeks reddening, like tomatoes.
Endless meals enjoyed with family.
Reruns of classics, devouring of new shows.
Card games : Heart, Spade, Diamond, Clover. Which to call?
Lazy tanning by the pool : shiny, crystal clear water undulating under the majestic sun.
Grandpas and grandmas mingling with kids and millennials, generations spreading across the grass.
Summer.
(What does it taste like?)
Trips to the farm : plump red strawberries, dark bursting raspberries, awkwardly shaped tomatoes.
Oblong zucchinis, eggplants, herbs.
Fresh local cheese, rabbit from the farm, sausages from the store.
Packaged fish sticks, homemade pesto pasta.
Bourekas oozing with cheese. Gratins brimming with veggies.
Bright green salads with zesty lemon dressing and a hefty dose of onions.
(Family specialties).
Emblems of our childhood.
Summer. (What does it mean?).
Road trips : castles, gardens, picnics.
Meanderings. Evasions. Excursions.
Laughs, smiles, hugs. Occasional tears.
The laundry list of my summers.