SUMMER CELEBRATION
By Janet Kaderli
Unpublished © 2007
After supper,
As the summer sun slips from the sky
My brothers, sister and I
Go out to the backyard.
We take our places on the swingset and tire swing,
Watching the sun go down,
Looking for the first star
So we can make a wish.
One by one the stars come out,
And, like an echo of the starry dance,
Lightning bugs start twinkling around the yard.
We chase the flickering insects,
Catching them and cupping them in our hands,
Peering at them between our fingers,
Waiting for the come and go of their glowing lights
Then releasing them to fly again.
The deepening shadows
Put us in a spooky frame of mind
And we play hide-and-seek,
Trying to scare each other,
Jumping out from the shadows
And racing for base.
Mama calls for us to come in.
“Five more minutes!” we call back.
“One more time!”
We stretch the five minutes as long as we can,
Hiding now as much from our parents as each other.
We get real quiet
So Mama and Daddy will forget we’re outside.
We lay in the prickly grass
Looking for the Big Dipper.
Although we won’t admit it
We’re getting tired and hiding yawns.
This time when Mama calls we go in
Already making plans for tomorrow
When we’ll celebrate the summer night
Five more minutes, one more time.