Goodbye to you,
a week’s worth of mostly rain
with a stretch of dry weather
at the end, taunting us,
forcing me out into the garage
on Sunday night to fire
up the grill. Even if I had
nothing to cook, and even
if it had continued to rain,
I would have fired it up anyway,
out of spite,
as if to say, you cannot keep
me inside all week.
Spring Break, you who
brought over dear friends
and found us a new ride
and a phone on which to
take fancy pictures of my dog
and a camper in the shop
now for weeks on end,
so that even if I wanted
to go out into the woods
in the rain I couldn’t have.
Goodbye Spring Break, you
who brought us new music,
late nights and late mornings,
bourbon and martinis
and beer and a decision
to eat well and to try to stop drinking
at least for a month.
Goodbye to you,
Spring Break.
You were both kind
and cruel to us,
vengeful and generous,
like Hamlet, without the dying,
under heavy weather.
michael jarmer 