Jill

She sees the path up the hill,
Brown and smooth
Where her feet have killed the grass
And knocked pebbles loose.

Her skin is sticky with summer heat,
Sweat collecting above her collar bone
And dripping between her breasts

She can hear children's laughter up ahead
She places her hand over her eyes
And licks the last drops of honey tea
From the corner of her mouth.

Body half bent
And leg muscles tightening,
She continues upwards.

Her boots are solid around her feet,
The hem of her dress catching shins and calves
In the wind.

She pauses to pull wet strands of hair
Off of her neck and back into a ponytail.
Her heart beats in her ears.

A breath in--honeysuckle on the breeze.
She remembers glorious childhood fantasies of love.

I exhale and keep climbing the hill.