Michaela
Written for Mika.
She was sitting
On the white warm stone of the patio outdoors
Looking at the goldfish pond
Swirling fingers around the waterlillies
And the sunshine came
Came down slowly
Like a yellow warm whisper
Old like the wallpaper in her grandfather's house
Yellow like butter melted on bread
Brand-new bread
Her grandfather baked bread
And the sunshine came
Came down slowly
Like a gold kind kiss
Fond like the long-haired cat that squirmed in her lap
Gold like the iris growing in the goldfish pond
Fish and iris
Glittering gold
With sparkles of water
And the sunshine came
She was stretching, stretching on her stomach
Arching her back
Feeling the sunshine
She put her head in her arms
Her fingers curled around her elbows and her
Soft brown hair fell over her back
Over her arms
Onto the white warm stone of the patio
Where the long-haired cat squirmed in the sun and tasted the air
Summer air
She put her head in her arms and crossed her feet behind her
With her shoes off the patio and her feet in the grass
New grass
That tickled her toes with new springy greenness,
Spring Green Growing
She was hearing the plop-splash of the fish in the goldfish pond
Darting into the air after flies
Glittering gold
Frozen in the air for only a second, only a second
Gold on gold, fish and iris, with sparkles of water shimmering flickering
Splash!
Darting up to the water after ants
Sliding between the lillypad stems, sliding along the iris leaves
She was hearing the fish in the goldfish pond, she was
Stretching on her stomach beneath the sun
As the sun came slowly
Her arms smelled of sunshine and warmth
Her soft brown hair was warm to touch
Am I waiting for something? she asked,
Lifting her head, lifting her head
The long-haired cat lifted his head and ruffled his calico-colours
His long-haired calico-colours, his back, against the
White warm stone of the patio
Am I waiting for something? she asked,
And the dragonflies settled about her on the stone
Resting
Breathing
Moving
Still
Stained-glass wings that flickered slowly, stained-glass eyes that looked ahead
The long-haired cat paid them no mind
She curled her toes in the new grass
And felt spring under her feet
Her grandfather whistled somewhere far away
Baking bread, baking bread
Is it summertime yet? she asked
Creeping her fingers along the white warm stone, creeping them into the shadows
Watching ants crawl over her fingers
Watching tiny spiders like seeds fall off lemon balm and catch themselves
With invisible white threads
It isn't summertime yet, she said
The dragonflies rose
Their stained-glass wings
Picked up, flickered fast, flickered quick, flicker-flick
Their stained-glass eyes looked ahead to the end of the world, the end of the garden, and they flew
The long-haired cat closed his black eyes
Flicked his black-tipped ears
I am waiting for summer, she said
Tucking her face in her sun-warm arms, in her arms that smelled of sunshine
In her soft skin that pricked with invisible hairs
Brushing her face like dust
The sun came slowly
Slowly
The smell of bread wandered through the sunlight slowly
And reminded her of butter, melting
Golden butter
Yellow butter
Like sunshine, melting
On the soft brown bread, baked bread
Kneaded by her grandfather's brown hands
I am waiting for summer, she said
And a butterfly paused on a chrysanthemum, waving painted wings
Fresco-painted wings
Oil-painted wings
Michaelangelo wings, Botticelli wings, Raphael wings in many colours
The long-haired cat squirmed back on the white warm stone and teased
With his black-tipped paws
Teased
Waving at the butterfly, tapping at the butterfly, dancing his black-tipped paws
At Botticelli wings
Summer is coming, she said
Her fingers went back into the goldfish pond, tasting on sunlight
Warm with sunlight
Brave fish with black-laced fins touched her sun-warm fingers and brushed her like
Botticelli wings
Summer is coming, she said
She was rising up from the white warm stone
She was standing on the white warm stone
Her grandfather's brown voice, like his hands and his bread, warm and fresh
Brown and baked
Calling her in
Because the bread was finished, and the smell wandered in the sunlight
Travelling, wandering
Hot with baking
Soft with baking
Brown and hot and soft
The long-haired cat squirmed on his back and batted at the air with his black-tipped paws
At the butterfly with Botticelli wings
Which was wandering through the sunlight
Dancing in the smell of bread
She was standing on the white warm stone and stepping forward
From the goldfish pond and the yellow iris
From the glittering fish and the long-haired cat
From the dragonflies with stained-glass wings and stained-glass eyes who flickered in the air like fireflies
Stained-glass fireflies
Flickering in the sunlight
Summer is coming, she said
Summer is here
Her arms smelled of sunlight and the colour was in them
The colour yellow, the colour gold
The colour of butter, melting
Melting
Butter on new brown bread, new bread, soft bread, baked bread
She was stepping forward, she was moving on
She left the white warm stone behind
She was stepping forward, she was stepping into
Summer
With her hands full of baked bread, brown bread
Her arms smelling of sunlight
Her bare feet on new spring grass and her face tickling with her
Hot brown hair
And her grandfather smiled and touched her with his brown bread hands
Summer is here, she said
I am not waiting now
And the sunshine came slowly
And the sunshine came
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