Hot long summer days
Young and restless
Naïve and unaware
Of the trouble in the world
Or we were ignoring it on purpose
Such anxiety
Reality had not quite set in
We loved unabashedly
Clearly though infatuation
Teenage, young adult angst
We still hoped
Dream romantically in the night
And by day
Bonfires, hikes, camping, roadtrips
Dances on the barn floor, beach side, or chapel floor
Hoping to have the swept off the feet moment
Or to simply have a decent dance partner for once
Ultimate Frisbee or touch football in the park
Midnight movie premieres
Video games in the basement
Smoothies and barbecues
I can remember the gossip, drama
And telling ourselves we were not the culprit of such contagions
When obviously we all could not shut our mouths
Even as small, each word changed like telephone
Mixing up the sear, flambeaux
Of summer fever
With other fevers
The hallucination from the heat
Confusing and disorienting
Like our romantic notions
Yearning for that summer fling
And if it could last longer
Forever, in my teenage dreams
Walks in the park, through the woods
Midnight runs when up mostly disoriented by the fever
Poems, letters, love notes, books, photos, soundtracks
A history of my summer loving days
My coping mechanisms and expressions of love
I can never take them back
So be it, because I was able to love freely
Without fear of risk or doubt, unlike these days
The days when love seemed so much simpler, straightforward
On the way I discovered
Matters of the heart are complicated
Because humans are imperfect
There is a fine balance necessary
Between romantic love and unconditional love
Between freedom and dependence
Such hot long summer days
Ignited my imagination like wild fires
When it was really about finding out
My capacity for resilience and determination
Valuing my independence
My identity became clearer
I fell in love with me
On the way to falling out of many loves
I discovered the true value of company and friendship
We all were infatuated with each other
Because we were all discovering who we were
And our worth
We were starving for attention, connection
When all along we knew each other’s worth
And admired the best each one of us displayed
By: Amara Van Orden
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