Luster

Written By Cheryl Lam

before summer was spent

on busy streets with strange lights

my lips were painted a deep red

dark as the cherry wine you

poured into my cup

on a midsummer’s night

and the smell of honeysuckle

was heavy in the air and it wove itself

into your tangled hair

and our linked fingers were sticky

with the deranged love of teenagers

and we brushed the worries off our

chipped shoulders and i

smoothed your rough edges

then summer was spent

in the sweet lakes and rivers

and our broken limbs and hearts

were healed by the cool water that

surrounded us and we fell

deeper into the labyrinth that was

love and loss and pain and

i was reminded of the time when i was

sixteen and young and free

and the smell of home was

pine trees and mountain air

and my mother’s smile and my

father’s eyes were sights that

welcomed me home every night

and now summer is spent

with you

and now the smell of home is

the sea and the ocean

which sinks into your skin and my hair

and the sounds of crashing waves

and the crackle of fires

and your smoky voice

lulls me to sleep every night

and when the sun seeps

through our windows and

spills on the sandy floor

i wake up to you

in our endless summer.