Chewing gum scented kisses, And long, slow dances

SUNSETS

I remember Ferris wheels

And sharing cotton candy,

Walking barefoot hand in hand

Along a beach that’s sandy,

Afternoons on inner tubes

With sunshine on my shoulders,

And the smell of roasting hotdogs

As a stone lined campfire smolders.

I remember sleeping on air mattresses gone flat,

Ballgames in the meadow,

And the cracking of a bat,

Kool-Aid on the running board

Of Granddad’s little Ford,

And popcorn at the theater

With that gal that I adored.

I remember horseback rides

And summertime romances,

Chewing gum scented kisses,

And long, slow dances,

Moonlit walks with pretty girls

In soft gingham dresses,

Thoughtful talks on country roads,

And warm, moist caresses.

And I recall the dawning

Of an inescapable truth,

And reconciliation

as the sun set on my youth.

Shannon Thomas Casebeer