My summer begins with a boy
Who likes to wear
A green plaid shirt
with sleeves rolled up,
Whose smile is soft and carefree,
Whose words are quickly made
And quickly forgotten

I find a dandelion
Between a crack in the wall
Little buds splashed with yellow
A fresh story
Growing from nowhere

I brush by him every day
Without a word to say
Although I know him well,
Like the sky knows its bird and
Cattle know their plow.

I know he plays basketball in gym class every Wednesday
I know he lost his school name tag.
I know he is an amazing beat boxer.
But he doesn’t know much about me.
He doesn’t know
I sit next to the window watching him play every Wednesday
He doesn’t know
I picked up his name tag on the ground and never return it.
He absolutely doesn’t know
I videotaped him during the talent show
From the first sweat drops off his face
To him disappearing into the cheering crowd

The dandelion is blossoming
The yellow of youth
The yellow of joy
The yellow that can only be found
In the blinding sunny summer

Inside an ice cream store
A boy and a girl are licking an ice cream cone.
A strand of hair hangs on her face,
Dips into the ice cream.
He lifts his hand,
Tucks the lock behind her ear.
A shaft of sunshine kindles their gazes
Something sparkling in their eyes.
I dare not watch
I can see nothing
But the carefree smile
And the green plaid shirt
with sleeves rolled up.

My dandelion is gone
I rub my eyes but,
It is still not there
I asked my dad
He said he uprooted it.
I see my dandelion
On the edge of the trash can,
Feebly hanging down
Like an overboiled noodle.
I cried to him
Why?
He said,
It’s just a weed.

Yes,
A weed.
But it was my whole summer