Give me the will for one more summer. Sunshine, cicadas, and streams.

I’ll take my feet on the soft, damp earth Coated with silky sprigs and moss, Rather than imagine the flesh bloated and pale, Beneath molded peat and rugged soil.

I’ll sink so deep Where golden-white beams shimmer out of the blue, Beckoning with intensity. I grasp for the galaxy, my lungs burning, begging for the sensation of oxygen.

I’ll scrape my knees on tree bark And pray I don't faint as the blood weeps, As the wound blooms.

I’ll eat one last succulent, sweet tomato Still coated with droplets of dew, With just a little sprinkle of salt on top, Just like I like them.

One more time, I will watch dusk consume the sun. One last time, I plead.