INK Poetry Read

Summer Haven
by Alison Violette '20

My anxious feet leap onto the baby stones
The minute they find their way into the fissures on my feet I know I’m home
My life has been a whirlwind of change in plans and broken dreams
But with all my rips and tears, this place stitches up the seams
The water’s breath finds it’s way into my soul
And suddenly every tattered piece feels whole.
I’m suddenly friends with the grass, which is mostly destroyed from the bleeding sun But in this place, nothing needs to be perfectly done
My teeth are a smile as soon as I open the door
A gateway into a splintered shack of stains of sweat and swim The sun is all the porch knows
And it’s constant appearance definitely shows
The screech of the drawers and the shriek of the cabinets
We want to tend to them but it’s becoming hard to afford it
The dripping from the shower head is no match for the dripping from the swimsuits The steep stairs slumbering on a slump to where splashing is acute
As I shiver and wrap my towel around my body, I’m filled with joy
As I imagine the fire I will sit around and the s’mores I will destroy
Then the most comforting sound that I have to close my eyes when I listen to it
Calls to my body and drags me from wherever I am to share the stories it needs to admit The whistle like a note held by an angel, brings my family and I all to one place
So we can challenge our eyes to watch as it rushes off to another embrace
I climb to my bunk and my tired body sinks into the bed
As I hear the whistle blow into distance and echo in my head