Gramp’s Place - Julia kinney

Summer comes and I come with it,

Riding down the coast to a town that has memory

Engraved within. You hear the sounds,

Don't you? The crashing, the glee,

As our star looks on

Happily, like a parent watching their child

Falling in love with life.

I enter upon my wonderland by ways of that

Splintered, wooden sign, dangling from a rusty nail

No one has had the strength to replace. It’s still holding

On. The walls: repainted every summer

I arrived. As fresh and bright as the sea

That hadn’t been in my brain's photographs since

Before the school year.

The door is already open, that warm voice

Melts into the humid air. And is that strawberry rhubarb

Pie? Melted butter, fresh fruits, sugary dreams

Coming back to me. My legs feel fuzz dancing around,

And the old, golden retriever smiles at me like Grandma

Used to. The toddler runs into the house for the first time as

Potted coral hydrangea shrubs blossom in glee.