to play

Race you to the end of the street

I’ll meet you in Rouse lot at 5

Beans and rice for dinner tonight, or should we go up

Night mode 

It’s okay to wave at strangers when you’re little

They’ll smile

I lift my head slightly when we pass

A small nod to welcome

No, please, you go ahead

I insist

Watching people watching people people watching 

His sunscreen isn’t rubbed in all the way but she touched his back subtly and now the streaks are 

Gone

If she had wings they’d probably be bright and feathery

She always emphasizes the names of foods when she likes them

And we found a lavender stone, we’ll give it to someone we love

There are bits of sands in the seams of my bag 

Salt caked into my skin

Her hair dried slower than mine did 

And he sat for hours listening to that bird titter and tatter

People flew by more than once, twice actually, it’s weird, if only I hadn’t given all of that up

Those people didn’t have wings but if they did they’d be leathery and smooth

They didn’t need wings though, not today

There was already more than enough sky to be seen from the ground

I had a thought, it passed

Frame frame frame, people watching people playing 

Clouds don’t need wings

She gave her more than the they could ever provide

They were simpler ‘you need more of that, people just break you’ 

I was playing with them too

Half and half, toasted and red

What we do when we have a moment, ‘flip over your stomach is getting spotty’

I guess he’s still there, his shorts are a funny color 

They don’t go nicely with the kites but they seem to work with his skinny glasses

Back facing upwards, hands above your head, pull your hair to the side 

I think the clouds should be back by this evening 

It’s getting a little too hot for me now 

I think if I keep my head under water I’ll 

‘People just break you’

It came back

Blue is a nice color when you can see through it

Her knees were pebbly from crawling on the shoreline and he was a slow swimmer

‘does it make you feel melancholic’

I think we might be heading home soon

We should probably stop playing

It’s not too late for the sun to rise tonight

Two more hops off of that rock out there, we could make it there if we wanted to

Shake off the towel, ‘your back is fine, stay where you are’ 

She rubbed it in again 

We stayed

We didn’t stop playing and they didn’t either

If we ran home we would catch the late train but I was swimming

Faster than him

And her hair was still wet, I already told you

‘how do we feel about night mode’

‘I feel positively about that’

‘okay’ 

‘see you tomorrow’ 

‘can you check my back?’ ‘turn over’ ‘you’re good’

‘thanks’

People watching people people watching people playing

Kites, towels, swimsuits

Don’t stop running unless your feet unstick from the ground

There is so much to see from here so we probably shouldn’t leave yet

Not yet,

‘want to come play again tomorrow?’

‘yes’ 

Race you to the end of the street 

I’ll meet you in Rouse lot at 5

Let’s go up 

Small lights and cover your toes

Night mode