Third Saturday in June

by Georgie Contreras

---

Traversing the backroads of neighborhoods
we could never afford, summer conspirators
headed for the nearest body of water.
I put my hair up with elastics and a claw clip
before cranking the window on the passenger side
tentative hand grazing the breeze.
This rickety old A/C makes too much noise
to inspire anyone’s confidence, and the CD player
a goner for sure. A tragedy
the guts of a binder splashed across
my lap. All custom mixes, of course
playlist and song and artist titles
scrawled in neat lines, evidence
of his organizational skills dating back decades.
I promise to steal every single one, to play
at home on the stereo or on Spotify,
I haven’t decided. Pop station static
laughter spilling over, overlapping
he tells me about his first Warped Tour:
the hot asphalt of the Brockton Fairgrounds
and the relief of shaved ice, pink in the face
middle-schoolers singing along to ska punk.

---

Georgie Contreras (she/her) is a Latine writer raised and residing in the Boston area. Her poetry has been published with The Ana, Loud Coffee Press, Querencia Press, and Rappahannock Review. Her work has received support from GrubStreet’s Boston Writers of Color and the Fine Arts Work Center. Whether she's journaling or reading a book from the library, you'll usually find an indie wrestling match from the mid-2000's playing in the background.

Read More