- Summer's Insanity -

by Anna Stephens
photograph: cecile h.


She spent half her life in this paradise
Of palm trees, orchids and the smell of suntan oil
Balmy breezes, bikinis and carefree days at the beach.
So long ago when life was easy.
There's a certain feeling of familiarity in this place.
A far away, veiled hint of returning.
Not to home, but to what or where?
Perhaps to a time, a scent in the air, the sound of the ocean.
Something nostalgic, but sadly so,
Hovers over like morning fingers of fog
Crawling through the canyons.

The mere coolness of the grass on her bare feet
Brings rush upon rush of forgotten memories
Not even related to the grass.
Mourning doves call to each other.
Anguished lovers torn apart.
A fate too cruel to ever heal.
While catbirds mock their every note.
The air is filled with an eerie sadness.
How strange are the connections of the mind.
The long insanity of summer, this one singular summer,
Has only just begun.