Thirteen

Summers color connoisseur
Brought me back to life tonight

But first Florida’s midsummer specialty
Her naked domain – a tropical depression
Thick lingering emptiness
Interrupted finally with a fire panic

Scorching
Touching the faces of all of her children
Waking them from their sticky sleep
Even the candy man

He goes to work immediately
Painting lemon yellow light first
It sucks all of the moisture from his canvas and mixes it with youth

Thin salty sweet
He gives the kids gumballs
Waits until they’ve chewed them up then adheres them to the horizon
Grey purple thick

He coats the waves in marshmallow so all of the children stick
Refusing to come in
Less they miss a single sip
Of her sweetness

Its one of those colors only he could paint
It gets in your bones and reminds you why you’re here
To drink in every piece of this terrestrial heaven

It makes you believe in summer love
And all you taste is taffy

There

With my feet sinking into the Atlantic
My lungs filled with lollipop skies
I could breathe again

It is these costal summer nights that the candy man kisses us awake
With the smell of laughter
That we remember
To live