you told me your favorite summer
was the one we spent together.
it was january and we were driving
down nebraska avenue
on our way to some shitty bar you loved
listening to a mix i made;
sam cooke and otis redding and brenton wood
all the records we played at our house that summer.
a shotgun house in the south
that jamaican restaurant across the street
it always smelled like weed.
the owner sang bob marley songs and played
guitar on saturday nights.
he would bring us leftovers from his restaurant
when he had them.
our stomachs were so full on plantains and jerk chicken
and coconut rice with kidney beans.
we spent most days on our front porch
eating fruit and reading and getting sun drunk
our skin turned golden brown. honey.
on weekends we would drive to the ocean
just to sit and be near it all day.
