The Summer that Never Ended

by Lawrence Wang

A moment caught forever
A snapshot shot between Spring and Fall

A sun perpetually hanging
Shadows never quite moving

A solitary leaf, caught in the tumbling wind, frozen
A ripple of water, a pebble dropped, droplets hanging in air

Children at play, stone monuments with closed eyes and open mouths
Laughter heavy in the air, blood stopped dead in their veins

The bird hangs in the air, unfettered by the dead wind
Black eyes unseeing, wings extended as though stretched on a dissection table

Caught in the headlights, the deer is helpless in the face of oncoming death a second away
A second to never pass, the driver's wide eyes reflecting the undying deer forever more

Lovers hold each other tight, their whispers of sweet-nothings imprinted for eternity
So close, yet so far, the climax approaching at the edge of time, to never be reached

A snapshot of life
This is a Summer that will never Be