Solstice

by Ashley Farley

The summer has ended,
Peppermint men with alstormeric bouquets
And lavendar women hiding it under their arms,
leaving the scented breeze as their ransom note.
the tiny hairs creeping from the crease
of their underarms (that their mothers never told
them to shave) reeling back in the summer
never forget the face
Wandering through empty
creeks rocks and stones
the souls against the padding
under worn feet. Prayer for a flood
That Noah never knew,
to watch the veins slowly fill
Within the creek
stream through, overflowing to drown
out the sound of autumn’s shrill
winter’s chill. But still smelling lavender
and peppermint: that september holding on as
The sun dragging itself across
the floor, leaving a blood-stained path against the sky.

Ashley Farley is a Rochester based poet, finishing up her senior year in The College at Brockport for her B.S. in English Literature. Ashley has been passionate about writing for most of her life, her first published piece of writing being from when she was 11 years old. She has had work published in Poppy Road Review and forthcoming in Calamus Journal, Leaves of Ink, Strange Poetry, and Amaryllis Poetry. Ashley was also the recipient of the Calvin Rich Poetry Award. She plans to continue her passion in all things English, and hopes to one day live on the beach and write children’s books.