The buzzer rang and I stood up fast

The buzzer rang and I stood up fast,

forgetting the way that the summer passed.

A sudden heat in the marrow and bone,

a sharp reminder I’m never alone.

The skin is pulled like a drumhead tight,

turning a bruised and sickly light.

I reached for the wrap with the edges frayed,

the one where the Velcro has finally decayed.

It won't hold the tension, it won't hold the heat,

just a loose gray tail around my feet.