Remembering Last Summer

Last summer should be fresh in my mind.

Certainly I did things which marked me.

Certainly I must have done things worth remembering,

But I cannot—for the life of me—as they say

Re-member, piece back together, last summer. 

There was no hurricane,

At least not here.

Perhaps in Mexico or Belize,

But not here. 

There were no great reunions

Of family and friends,

No re-membering of my diverse extended family.

There were funerals, to be sure,

But I am confused as to whether they were last summer

Or the summer before.

Certainly there were summer birds whose preening I caught

And continue to keep on my devices.

Certainly there were flowers, roses, daylilies, and irises,

Ginger blooms and crepe myrtle blossoms

Which I caught and keep.

But they live quietly, peacefully, on my devices.

They, and all of last summer, no longer live in my memory.

--June 26, 2013