A Summer Moment In January

You heard this one a lot I'm sure
You surely knew the song
Heading to the lake perhaps
I'm sure you'd sing along

The summers that you spent
Your loved ones by your side
Smiling as you all piled in
Excited for the ride

Bare feet on the dashboard
We've packed our food and games
This our favorite season
We'll always feel the same

So, as I drive by I salute you
Since you're not really gone
You'll never be forgotten
As we take up the song

So shine your light upon us
Our sky still blue and clear
Well think of you in summer
And all throughout the year

I wrote this one in January, 2011 on a cold winter night on the way to a friend's house. I was driving by a cemetary in Grafton, Mass. A song came on the radio, I think it was actually "Feel Like Makin' Love" by Bad Company. For some reason the song made me think of summer, and riding around in the car on the way to the beach or a lake to swim. I glanced over at the headstones and all of a sudden I had this overwhelming feeling. I thought to myself, you all probably knew this song. Maybe you had your girlfriend, wife, or hubby in the car one day, and this song came on and you sang along. I could suddenly picture the entire scene, with someone's car all packed up for a day in the sun, off to meet friends and have a good time. I glanced back over at the headstones and said, out loud in the car, "The people you loved have those memories, so you're not really gone. I salute you." It was a very strange moment. I don't know anyone buried in that cemetary and I don't know why the moment struck me the way it did. But I do know as I drove the last few yards my headlights hit the shining headstones and a group of them lit up a bright red, like they were on fire. Just a trick of the lights, you know? But it felt as if those souls knew I'd acknowledged them, like they were waving at me or saying thanks. I can't explain why I felt the way I did, but it was a moment that will stay with me. That's why I wrote the poem.