August Retreat

by Cassandra Ricca

The night air is sticky with stars.
Slip out of bed, walk down the deck
of the lake house.

Dip your toes into this reservoir of dreams,
the lake that has been holding your tears
since girlhood, all those summers ago.

Come here to breathe deep without the fumes
of people’s indifference towards beauty
and you.

This year you manage to smile at that face in the lake.
It’s ok for you to need this place, to remind yourself
not to let the world swallow you whole.

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Cassandra Ricca, cordially known as Cassie, is a novice writer who loves a good story as much as she does iced hazelnut macchiatos and family outings. She graduated this May from Adelphi University with her B.A. in English and will earn her Master’s in Childhood Education in May of next year. Although she is still growing in her literary acumen, she has dabbled in the genres of both prose fiction and poetry.