A Poem for Summer

I usually don’t write poetry; I’m too much of a rule follower. :)

But as I prepared for teaching two creative writing classes in our homeschool co-op, I realized if I was going to talk with kids and teens about poetry, I needed to get poetry in my mind. I’ve been reading different types and styles and decided to try my hand at writing a free verse-inspired poem about our summer.

This was the Summer

This was the summer

I bought water balloons,

Which the kids filled

And flung around the yard.

This was the summer

For both new and familiar things:

Baseball and movie marathons,

Youth group and playdates;

Trying to say yes when possible.

This was the summer

Of a stomach bug

That knocked us out,

Of allergies

That tickled and itched.

This was the summer

We cuddled on hot days

Because next summer, will you ask?

We talked past bedtime

Because tomorrow, will you want to?

This was the summer

We ate ice cream and snow cones,

Of hiking, swimming, laughing;

For enjoying every moment we could

Because next summer won’t be the same.

At the beginning of the summer, I realized time is passing fast. My oldest is almost 13, quickly approaching the age of summer jobs and doing her own thing. These carefree days of simple joys experienced together won’t always be there. I know time changes things, not in a bad way, but life becomes different.

This summer, I wanted to set aside the things that could wait and be completely present for my kids when possible. I wanted to say yes to things that were nos in the past {like water balloons} and let them try new things {like baseball}.

It was a great summer. Full, exciting, memorable. This simple effort captures just a glimpse.

Photo by Sergey Shmidt on Unsplash