The summer before you moved away
we played baseball til the lights came on
we sold ice water at the bus stop
and we made up our own language.
We played baseball til the lights came on
my knees were covered with scabs
and we made up our own language
it was too far to walk to the pool.
My knees were covered with scabs
and your mom hid her beer in a drawer
it was too far to walk to the pool
one day it was a hundred and one.
And your mom hid her beer in a drawer
one day it was a hundred and one
we sold ice water at the bus stop
the summer before you moved away.
Kathleen Shaw grew up in Northeast Philly during the 1960s. For twenty years, she has taught English at Montgomery County Community College in Pottstown.