The Fountain of Youth

Fountain of Youth

It was the summer of the
Japanese beetles eating off
your favorite tree in the garden;
of you catching them
with nimble fingers
and I with clumsy ones.

It was a summer like any other;
with the vigor of spring fruits
drying beneath the sun,
with sparkling waters,
with lighthearted dance.

It was the summer where
the glow of us shone
in the depths of our eyes;
where the world was but illusion,
lilting only on the edges of my thoughts.

It was the essence of that summer,
that was, and is
the fountain of all youth.

Tucked carefully in the midst
of my memories is this fountain, so that
I may drink from it eons forward in time --
during a summer like any other;
where the world becomes illusion,
lilting only on the edges of my thoughts.

Notes

Contest entry for "Invalid Item" 
Won first place!!!
Line count: 25 lines (not including the title)
Form: Free Verse