Lazy Michigan Summers

"School's out!
School's out!
Teacher let the fools out!"
We sang on that early June day,
then shoes would come off
till early September.

Barefoot blues, we'd
limp across the gravel road
in June, and race across it
in August, paying no heed to
where the stones were.

No toys, we were forced
to invent those.
Down at the lumber yard
they'd rip a 2x4 for
twenty-five cents.
We made stilts, and
spent weeks
three feet from the ground,
from sun-up till sunset,
then park them by the porch.

No money, no problem,
we'd collect pop bottles along
the dusty streets,
two cents each.

Balmy nights, we
embraced the darkness,
playing hide and seek,
kick the can,
then drag blankets into the grass
to spend the night
in awe, beneath the stars.

Dallas D'Angelo-Gary 08