Ebullient Interactions

Ebullient Interactions       Brooke DiGia

 

For those among us with the cola addiction

 

The sweaters are coming off

We smile delicate smiles,

those of the almost-there-hopefulness,

not-to-sure-but-I’m-still-pretty-confident.

Crack--fizz!--peel back the metal top

and drink, savoring the…cool…sensation…

Hey! It’s warm enough outside

to feel condensation on the can.

 

The charmed life is here,

with sweaty faces and barbeque-filled laughs

swirling above the bon fire

smoke dancing among fireflies.

My red-stained lips drink in the fizz,

eyes swimming in the crimson light

of the setting sun shining through

at the bottom.

 

The sand-filled jeeps are parked,

the beach bags in the backs of closets.

Falling leaves surround and that nagging chill--

not biting enough for a sweater but

not hot enough for those sunburnt cheeks,

fire-lit faces, chlorine-dried hair.

Drink it because you can,

it’s dull and losing its zing but

the good old times will come back

if you close your eyes

and wish hard enough

as the last few sips say goodbye.

 

6:00 pm, nighttime already.

We push the hot cocoa aside

and drink the soda instead,

because who cares if our fingers

freeze to the can?

We will swallow the cold,

freeze our color-drained lips,

and wait for the moment to arrive

when the cold doesn’t hurt,

the darkness isn’t frightening,

and the seasons don’t leave us

in the same way every year.