Sometimes
when a day at the computer is long
and the voice on the other side of the screen is droning on about
how to find when a boat enters a circular pond,
I light a candle.
It’s lilac.
A fragrance that reminds me
of summer at the top of the hill
and my dad bending the tree branches
for me to get a smell.
My feet were dirty and hot from the pavement
that was cooking in the sun.
I would draw with melting ice cubes
on the cement
and yell for mom to come see
before it dried up.
The candle will do
before summer comes
and I get to visit
the lilac tree again.