Every other day, when the clouds roll by,
leaving blue and sun and warmth,
I am reminded of all springs of the past.
I am reminded of tight shorts and braces,
ice cream trucks and parks,
sticky hands clinging to a swingset,
and honeysuckles on the way to school.
I am reminded of a spring during lockdown,
walking to the lake and poetry and movies,
staring out the wall of windows and thinking
of places I could have been.
When I soak in the sun and feel it on my arms,
I think back with longing, even for a moment,
and wonder if those selves would be satisfied
seeing me, as I am now.
Kyrie Dunning is a Cal Poly Humboldt English graduate and writer. She won the Jodi Stutz Poetry Award and has been published in Toyon Literary Magazine. She spends her time trying to write novels and playing with her cats.