We spent the whole day
lying on the grass of a sloping hill
imagining whole cities we could
pick up and move away
at will so there would be
crowded sidewalk cafes open all night
and dancing shadows seen in
candlelit windows high above
bustling, honking, lit-up streets
but also nothing at all
no one around, no coming and going
nowhere to be
except on an expanse of rolling fields
where we could bask in the heat
of a lingering sun
and drift off to dreams of us
lying on the grass of a sloping hill

It happens in the last days of summer
the ruin of the sun’s relentless scorch
breaks the greenery’s sheen
and we finally notice that the sinking has begun

We are left weary and muted
far from where we started
stranded in a murky darkness
that came faster than we could ever believe