what happens when summer ends?

the sunlight gets less exciting

crocodile tears rush down my face like ocean waves on a shore littered with plastic

this past summer wasn’t all i chalked it up to be

but it was the most transformative summer of my life thus far

lessons were learned the hard way

friends were made — the easy way

money was spent

good food was eaten

family was all encapsulating 

these wonderful things happen around me

like an orbit of happy fortune 

and me, myself

at the center of the universe 

letting it all pass me by

the end is creeping up on me

and this girl knows not what to make of it all

she cries on public transport 

she sees her friends less 

she focuses on her degree

she gets her own apartment 

that car accident traumatized her

but she keeps driving because

she has to

i’m still spinning out of control

stuck in that moment long into autumn

the dust settles when summer ends

and i can see us for what we are

see me for what i am

maybe summer never ended

the seasons just changed

and i did too