Summer nostalgia

October 2025

I find it hard to imagine the scent of autumn
while the screen shows 31 degrees,
with a real feel of 40
and instead of my usual battle against the cold,
I find myself fighting mosquitoes and gnats.

And I notice it's not so easy to feel nostalgic,
as I would under the autumn atmosphere
where coconuts and palm trees are replaced
by fallen leaves, orange hues
and the scent of coffee several times a day.

Then I imagine you,
who will surely be enjoying that season
going out for cappuccino with your parents on Sunday mornings
and having pizza with perfect crust on Thursday evenings
or laughing with your friends, as they go from one beer to three.

I know you'll be thinking how much you like the cold,
except when night falls and you think of me
curling up in the same bed I slept in months ago
thinking of you, while throwing the covers off due to the heat
and now you're turning the situation around.

And as the days approach winter,
to breakfasts with pandoro, and passatelli al brodo in the afternoons
remembering your childhood through flavors and company
creating sweetness between silences and memories with your surroundings
returning to your roots, while I, feel so far from mine.

Realizing that creating nostalgia wasn't so difficult
once one thinks of everything they've lost
that has no time, space, or compassion for the lost and aimless traveler,
who suddenly finds themselves so close to living another year
noticing that they have no one to celebrate with.