Reflections on The Endless Summer in September

After months on the north country’s roads
A mad dash westward to chase the sunset
Finally home and settled in the dawn lands
Settled in the hometown, main street, swing of things
Comfortable routine of things, familiar since childhood

Living like I’ll never have to grow up
Reveling in the freedom of free time
To drink with friends until the sun rises
To run the streets and play the woods
To hear east coast sounds, cricket calls
To break bread at my father’s table
Living like the long summer evenings of when I was five
Living like the late starry nights of when I was nineteen

Youthful adventure in perpetual timelessness
Even now as I write this in weekday afternoon leisure
Feet dangling in the white clay creek
Dusty sneakers to my right
Patched backpack to my left
Still scribbling away in a journal
Cradled in the crook of a tree
As I was taught in fourth grade

Sit, write, think, sit, write, think
Reminiscing on the trails of June conquered
Rocky mountains climbed, deserts discovered
Tundra traversed, high seas of July sailed
Delicious beers drank with gusto
Hearty meals cooked over campfires
The many Americans I met on my journeys
When the paths of two travelers cross

This summer is still so ripe and full for the picking
Life is luscious with lovers, epic escapades, possibility
O where are my camerados close?
What rare spices have I yet to savor?
Do the redwoods still wait for me?
Can so verdant a season ever fade?
I live only for this golden moment.
I cannot even conceive of its demise.

I want to drink, dance, and dream endlessly
Always poised for another adventure
Let me master the wild rivers of West Virginia
Let me learn the secrets of Shenandoah
Let me make a home for the friends I love
Let me bring joy to all who claim this town
I want to suck the very marrow of life
I want it all and I will not compromise

The calendar would have me believe it fall
Of my twenty-fifth revolution round our star
Time to settle, steady, slow and soften down
But I could swear the season is still spring
And I’m just a beginner born to sing