The laughter starts again,

as we crowd around the table,

haphazardly reaching for food,

this is why i love the summer,

this is what i live for,

i remind myself,

the long days,

short nights,

crowded in a huddle 

on the back porch,

wrapped up after a long day of swimming,

that's how it used to be

we don't even see each other now

i just wish we did

 

"they don't care",

my mother says,

her eyes glittering

"i know they don't"

i would reply,

but deep inside,

after all those years of the same conversation,

every time tears stinging my eyes,

because of rejection,

i truly thought they cared,

but now it seems,

after all these years,

they don't,

i just wish they did.