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. 

Julia Kinney is an English major and Creative Writing minor in her senior year of college. This is her second publication in the ARCH Literary Journal. After graduation she hopes to continue writing poetry and fiction, as well as teach English. She can be reached at juliavkinney@outlook.com.