stolen summer

catefrances

there's a broken doll lying in the corner of the overgrown front yard of the house near the lane.
the lane where the only thing that glitters is the broken shards of empty beer bottles that catch the sun winking.
down the lane across the park and down the hill is the creek where they found her battered body
there's a wooden bridge that all the local kids would jump off into the water to cool themselves down on a hot summer's day
no one jumps from it anymore. they don't even come to the park much
usually then it's people who've just moved in who don't know all the local lore
and when they do they hold their babies' hands a little tighter
the broken dolly in the yard belonged to the body
her family don't equate the body with their sunshine girl
i know this because sara was my sister
sara is my sister. she will always be my sister
three years younger and the light of all our lives
so many times we talked to him
he'd make us smile and he'd play with all us kids
sara her blonde hair flying as she ran down the footpath
my brother chasing her with a water pistol
we'd all follow, thundering down the lane and over the verge to the bridge
now the innocence of childrens' summer is gone
and the house stands abandoned, yellowing curtains hanging tattered at the windows
spiders weave their webs in the corners and across doorways
a swingset in the backyard stands like a rusted sentinel
awaiting the return of laughter and skinned knees that will never come again
there's a broken doll lying amongst the weeds and another found drowned face down among the reeds.