Sultry Months

hot Midwest streets,

feeling buttery tar squish between bare toes

humid, heavy air,

a suffocating blanket while

mosquitoes buzz our ears

as raindrops plop,

we shed clothes for swimsuits

splash in summer showers

synchronized sprints

under charcoal gray thunderheads

stacking higher and higher,

shedding lightening, the

showers now storms,

so we stampede to shelter

stolen mulberries stain our shorts and fingers,

exposing our secret, the forbidden picking

games of bicycle cops-and-robbers,

moonlight tag, and firefly chases

Brownie Scout muddy creek hikes and

$two-bit community pool plunges

biking or driving for quarry swimming

summer reading clubs -

Bookmobile neighborhood stops

softball, badminton, tennis, roller skating

juicy watermelon, touched with sprinkles of salt

- a real slurpy breakfast -

afternoons might bring ice cream

IF the man pedals his freezer cart by

we love Green Rivers at the local

soda fountain counter

A&W root beer floats delivered by carhop,

square White Castle burgers

and new to us, Chinese take-out

The Golden Arches sign displays

“25,000 Hamburgers Sold!”

fifty cents for movie double-features

drive-in movies and summer street dances

we loved our Motown, British Beat Groups

and Friday night Battle of the Bands