Cracking open a bottle of sun block

My nose tickles at the sunny summery scent

Mom would smear it on my playful squirming body

Every scorching weekend my cousins would run over

We swam like fish, never ceasing for a second

Splashing, giggling, and shouts of “Marco?” “Polo!”

Getting in trouble for running around the flagstone pool

Swimming all day forgetting about lunch and dinner

Our tired lips would turn dark purple and blue

And even then we clung to the crystal clear water

Making great waves, pretending to be in the sea

Imagining the green ugly sea monsters below

Praying a great white shark would not eat us

Using our floaties as mystical pirate ships

A childhood like a sunset

Beautiful, happy, and ending too fast

The sunny summery scent tickles my memory