Summer Break

i need the warmth of a thousand summers on my face today. an aching deep in my body for the freedom of running through the blossoming backyard, chasing birds, picking apricots. sun-dried hair and sun-burnt shoulders. bare feet and freckles on my face. i'm in need of a fly away and see you next season kind of vacation. the kind that takes me to places with warm colors, rich mountains, beautiful trees, and an all-penetrating heat. i want the high-school-summer-job carefree of sure! let's blow $200 on clothes today! and the afterwork thrill of homemade cookies and chess games. i long for the kind of adventure that makes my blood tingle and my head swim. that jump-off-a-50-foot-cliff feeling as the water below gets closer and closer and... i want the lazy days of cats in the carpet sun-patches and time to write in the morning on the sofa with a large glass of lemon water. my feet are restless to pound the red dirt as the sun crests the hilltops. long grass and cold strawberries and grapes, all laying on our backs staring at the wind-blown cloud castles. shorts and flip-flops and swimsuits and lazy popsicle drips. waking to sunshine in the morning, sunshine in the evening at bedtime. sunshine in my toes, my eyelids, my fingertips. my soul yearns for summer break.