Prelude to Summer

 
Forgive that grit of light for settling

where the pit used to be—fruit will be hollowed

and hollowed again. Forgive August for coming back

and seeming warmer than the last. It has no choice

but to seem. Forgive me for following you

at the Chevron in Crescent City and I’ll forgive you

for smelling like him. Sometimes absence tilts its head

like a loyal companion. Sometimes my hands

feel for dirt after rain.
 
 
 

Jesse Ewing-Frable studied Creative Writing at Western Washington University. Last June she co-founded Sweet Tree Review. Her fears are common—stair stepper machines, loving to fill a vacancy, and spontaneous renditions of “Happy Birthday.” She lives in Portland, Oregon.