On Saturday I finished a sonnet about Egypt, and I thought I might interrupt my tale of young adulthood on Martha’s Vineyard with a political interlude.  But it’s Valentine’s Day, and this song, in its way, is about love.  So I will continue as planned.

In the end of that summer the tensions were resolved for me.  I managed to step clear of the judgement that I was doing a bad job, managed to find joy in the good I did and a vicarious enjoyment of my brother’s budding friendships.  This final song brought me great comfort.

Many years later a mentor was helping me find my life direction.  He asked me to talk about times I remembered with a sense of accomplishment. One of the highly salient ones was the writing of this song, in three chapters.  He observed that this proved I was an artist – that of all the challenges that I may have overcome that summer, what I mentioned was this song.  It took me another twenty years to figure out that I’m a writer, and that I can’t just divert that calling to do something else that seems plausible.

The song is still clear in my mind.  It still pleases me to sing it.  I showed it to my brother once, and he was unimpressed.  When I shyly sang it to him, he said ah, I see how it works.  So I guess this one does better with the melody than without it.  I wish I could sing it to you.

End of summer

Goldenrod afterglow

Now from somewhere

Things that you know come in clear again –

That life is love and laughter

In the end the things you’re after find you

All the dreams will reach their dreamers

You will too.

End of summer –

Knowing you have to go

End of summer

Thinking of times that you want to hold

But a golden haze enwraps them

And the summer days

Fuse into one,

A song, a ripple on the water

Waves and storms, and smiles for keeping warm

Tans will never last forever

Plans will change and who’ll remember?

-Someone will.