Missing Summers

When summers seemed never-ending,
and ice cream was like little angel kisses
straight from heaven…

When shoes and shirts were optional,
and hours were spent crawling in a field of wildflowers
looking for four-leaf clovers and lady bugs.

Or just laying on my back watching the clouds
make animal shapes as they drifted
across the pale blue summer sky.

Holding tightly to a coil of string
legs crossed, breeze drying my sweat
and watching a kite dance for me.

When… when...
when did the summers go missing?

I still have that child wonder,
I still have that happiness,
that genuine glee and sparkle
that can be seen
in a child's eyes
when he's given a candy
or going for a cool swim.

What I don't have
are those summers that
seem never-ending.

The boy remains the same
but his world has changed.