July knows me well, but December knows me better
They’re benign, blank canvases, best painted in weather
In December I never doubt the purity of snow, or that Christmas will come
I always remember that when it gets cold, there isn’t much to be done
Around this time of year
Memories of September keep us together
So the sun will never set in the midsts of July, don’t you tell her
I try not to be a straw man
But I think I’ve romanticized the why
Why July gives me nameless treasure
but December loves me better
On that hot summer night
I let July have her way
In an exchange for a way with words–
Malignant regret from February
Released as fireworks into the oblivion of July
Instead, solitude embraces what I remember
Just like I did in November before December,
My autumn holds your hand, my thanks caress you
Your sparks still light me up months later
I’ll write a senseless poem but think carefully about the header
Something to disguise the 10 steps forward and 2 steps back between me and December
Perhaps 28 days would feel better
July, to you I write this letter
An ode to December to say that I loved you clever
Isolation in plain sight
I called you lover bitterly in spite
Four months later, it’s finally November
I realize that it will never snow in July
Or rain in December
I’m laid to rest in the second month of summer
Knowing, I would never be thankful
For the trials and tribulations that brought me December
If not for that one day in July that I can’t remember.
(By Joella Asapokhai ’25)