This, the sad smile of summer

She leaves with a kiss of sun and a shiver of cool

She swears she will return in a few days for a short visit before she leaves

for the south for  seven months

Her snappy sister arrives in a huff, hair twirling in the bitter wind

she taunts me with her bright hard light and dashes my hopes for a detente’

Damn, she’s here for a while and she has very few qualms about summoning

her big wintery mama on occasion just to keep me honest, sniffling, and covering up