Submitted by Nicodemus Thacker

As twilight stars twinkle above us, the water cooling our flesh / We must take pause to breathe deep / Listen to the crickets, the cicadas / Collect their shells for later / As a reminder of all the years gone by / A testament to our survival / The lampshade holds a dozen cicada shells / Perched carefully, empty and dry / I never thought twice about it until I was older / How many years of cicadas must have been there / And now that I can't see them, I wonder where they went / And still, when it rains / I think of nights on the rooftop / Singing into the storm / The rain pelted my skin / My hair dripping, body curled / My soft sad song carrying into the night / I don't remember what song it was, but I remember the moment / Climbing out the window to sit as a young child / The world vast and dark / But my heart strong and steadfast in its efforts / To remain