Honorable Mention

This year I have placed in the Chautauqua Creative Writing Contest with Honorable Mention. I'm pretty happy because this is the third year in a row that I've placed in the contest. I wrote this poem on the last night of Summer 2012 at the Outer Banks, North Carolina. I was listening to 'She's Leaving' by Orchestra Maneuvers in the Dark and I typed the last words at a few minutes to midnight. The poem, though somewhat vague, contains many of the memories I have of last summer, one of the best summers I've ever had. Each thing corresponds to a memory, from the imagery of the sea, sand, and stars down to the very face of the man I named 'Summer'. The feelings I had while writing this poem were extremely hard to describe-bittersweet is the closest I can come. 

I hope you enjoy this edited version that I submitted into the contest.

He’s Leaving

Black hair framing a gentle face, skin kissed by the sun

Black eyes that glitter with childish whims

He gives me a bright grin, showing crooked teeth

And I find I must smile softly back at him

I met him on the warm streets in the evening

Beneath the glorious moon, in front of a magical place

His white button-down un-tucked, his black slacks wrinkled

A winning smile plastered on his dreamy young face

In that single moment, I knew there was nothing to be done

I couldn't tell him to leave or to stay

His suitcase hung over his shoulder as he walked alone

The man made his way into my heart that day

Tonight, that heart feels like it will shatter, each piece a memory

The warm pavement, afternoon ice cream, evening walks

Each moment of freedom, each whisper of romance he brought me

All of them to disappear with his absence

He takes my hand and leads me out onto the still, quiet beach

'Let's take a walk?' he entreats with puppy-eyes

'I can't, it's cold,' but without a word, across my shoulders his arms reach

His warmth is like the fiery sun; boldly passionate, gently reassuring

He hums a sweetly sad tune under his breath

I inch a little closer to him and catch the faint thumping of his heart

As the waves beat against the shore in a choppy rhythm like our thoughts

I clutch the slightly weathered fingers of his brown hand tighter

'Ouch, you're squeezing', but I don't care, the thoughts of his leaving cloud my good judgment

He continues to ignore my silence, chatting about the sea, the skittering creatures, the winds

The stars are a parade of celestial wonders, marching to God's alignment

My lonesome heart replays the song of life in it's fullest bloom

He stops, his feet buried in the sandy ground, and he sighs, like he's afraid of it himself

He takes his arm from my shoulders and bows his head of black, windswept hair

'I've got to go now,' he explains in his painfully quiet voice, barely above a whisper

I try my hardest to look at him and nod, but I feel angry and upset inside

'For how long?' I ask, but before I receive an answer, his lips touch mine

A brief peck of a kiss, rushing pulse, scattered emotions, overwhelmed in the sensation

Summer lets my hand slip from his

And turns away.

-Argentia