knees like california

We moved a lot when I was a kid and to this day my favorite home was in an olive green trailer. I was young, six years old. We parked the metal beast in a field in spring. The sunsets made the flowers look like flames.

We had a garden where we grew basil and zucchini. Every night we cooked quiche and drank lemonade. No one was ever sad because you could just step outside and be enveloped in orange and yellow sunflowers.

I remember the fireflies at dusk.

The air would buzz with heat, and the dust danced with me. My arms spread wide, I twirled. My skin felt like California. My knees shook with joy.

I have not felt this joy since, and this is only a dream.

I didn’t ever try to catch the fireflies. I knew how sad I would be if someone caught me in a jar and shook me ‘till my spark went out.