Preemptive Summer

they knew that april
had never felt like this
before
never felt so warm
with
sunlight so potent
it could be tasted
and so enduring
that it could not be measured
in seconds
or in hours
the preemptive summer
freckled their noses and shoulders
and bathed them in a quiet and perpetual
euphoria
as they drove along the gulf
stopping only to
count the shark's teeth
found along their path

Copyright © Catherine Young, 2008