Summer's End

Summer's End

Softly, wisps of sound pierce the veil
that holds me captive for my crime.
My failing body is my jail;
my sole offense -  I've past my prime.
         There's no escape. I won't prevail
         against the ravages of time.

For solace I seek days long past:
remembered romance, summer days
when all tomorrows stretched out vast
far beyond my temporal gaze.
         Sweet memories, recalled at last;
         the end of time is lost in haze.

Rolled up white sleeves on tight tee-shirts
holding Camels – a badge of youth.
Be-bop music and poodle skirts -
a time when people spoke the truth.
         A lover's kisses soothed all hurts;
         friends could be counted on for ruth.

Warm memories speed through my mind
like fast cars racing toward a goal.
A final breath – I leave behind
my shackles as I free my soul.
         I drift in peace, no more confined,
         as time yields up its last control.


Notes:
An entry for "Stormy's poetry newsletter & contest"  [ASR]
Word Bank:  summer romance poodle skirts white tee-shirts fast cars

ruth - compassion or pity for another.

Form: The Inverted Refrain consists of four 6-line stanzas, for a total of 24 lines. The first four lines of a stanza create a statement from which the last 2 lines extract the meaning, and invert the way it was said. The last two lines of each stanza, which are the 'inverted refrain', are indented as a couplet.

The Inverted Refrain is a rhyming poem with a set meter and rhyme scheme as follows:
Rhyme scheme per stanza:  Lines #1-4 are abab; Lines #5 and #6, the two inverted refrain lines, can be ab or ba.  Meter: 8 syllables in every line.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story.  Please, as long as you're here, leave a comment.  Criticisms, thoughts, reactions - yes – even words of encouragement or praise – are all equally welcome

Ken