Release

Summertime

The weatherman tells of rain all week

but as she looks out her window

she sees sunlight among the clouds

she puts on shorts

an 'I Love San Francisco' tee shirt

flip flops

and pulls up a camping chair

puts her head back

and takes a nap in the sunshine

the rain waits until she's finished

basking in the sun

like a lizard on a rock

she hears her father's radio

singing Willie Nelson from the garage

her father's working on his truck

changing oil as he sings softly, like he usually does

she waits there for a moment

smiles, then asks why he didn't invite her

to his oil-changing ceremony

he laughs at her and says she was taking a nap

and you just don't disturb people taking naps

she laughs and says that's true

so she lies down under her car

and asks him for another oil pan

and changes her oil as well

because it's her favorite thing to do some days

and she sings along with the radio

an octave above her father

melodic

so that their voices flow above and below each other

not side by side

creating her favorite song

and when she's finished, she wipes the oil off her fingers

and lays in the grass

staring at the clouds

with eyes full of wonder

and she's

happy.