Summer Day
by Emily Harel

The scent of honeysuckle and heat,
of coconut and sun on pond-water
finds my nose as soon as we cross the bridge
and the grind of hot beach sand massages
our bare feet as we head toward the pond
I sit up to my hips in the tea-brown water,
flecks of sand and sediment suspended,
sparkling gold, and I watch her, squatting,
swirl a small finger in the pond. She stands,
water dripping down skin smooth as cream,
and she holds a lily-pad in each hand.
I watch her drop them and they float away,
like boats drifting in the stillness of summer.
She points at the minnows darting
in the warm shallows, tickling her ankles,
sun glinting off gold scales, fins fine as feathers.
We grow suddenly still, slow our breath,
each watching the other in quiet adoration.



Previously published in The Avocet  

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