Summer Sonnet

Matt Conklin

He loved her like the sun loves open skies,

A blaze that warmed the months they made their own.

Her laugh was July’s wind, her touch surprise—

Like sudden rain that finds you all alone.

They chased the light through fields and midnight streets,

Barefoot, unplanned, and drunk on every hour.

The days ran sweet like juice on sticky sheets,

And love bloomed wild—no fence could hold its flower.

The nights were endless; stars would pause to see

Her eyes in firelight, shining back at his.

No clock dared move; the world let them just be—

Two hearts held close in summer’s boldest kiss.

Now every breeze recalls her breath, her name,

And every summer burns with just her flame.