June

So here it is June

Midyear came at midnight when no one was watching

I’m marking seasons by swapping windows for screens

Airing out the bedrooms of children who are starting to sweat 

Nursing rake blisters in the shade of the tree that killed my lawn

I rake debris from past seasons

Rake and pull away the past that has smothered new growth

like black oil on a bird’s wing

I rake and break up ground until my lawn is barely that

more a lot of dirt clumps waiting for

reincarnation

what with having recently been killed by my overzealous hands

I rake until I am sweating in the morning shadows

I rake my skin apart

What have I raked away?

Seeds

Seeds from some tree striving desperately to grow where it does not belong  

Seeds that have failed. Latent. Dead.  Uglier even than the bare dirt below 

At least the dirt has open palms

Ready to receive more seeds

It is the last day of school

Our kids keep growing and we keep celebrating milestones with family dinners and movie nights

Days like these have raced into years

and may race on, unnoticed, were it not for these hard labors

Raking

Windows

Blisters

Seeds