Under the Coconut Trees A little girl races down the stairs, Light feet thumping against the granite steps Arriving in the kitchen, she spots her target A tall glass of grandma’s lemonade The glass glows in the morning light A muted yellow fluid inside With sparkling ice cubes floating on top The girl clutches the glass, hands sticky with sugar And runs to the front of the house She steps outside into a garden, Nearly suffocated by the intense heat Sitting down beneath some coconut trees, She quietly sips her lemonade A bright taste entering her mouth And a lemony smell entering her nose She looks up at the palm trees, Taking in this captivating world The leaves rustle in the morning breeze, Honeyed dew glistening on the thin green spikes Her bare feet graze the dirt, wet and soft While she smells the sweet aroma of the nearby jackfruit trees The hot, stuffy air speaks in a muffled voice With roosters crowing like the sharp sun in the sky Almost done with her drink, The girl scrapes the bottom of her cup Scooping out the thin layer of sugar And licks her finger, The course, gritty sugar filling her mouth with pleasure As she savors the sweetness, She stands up, Coconut trees towering over her And a syrupy feeling inside of her Trisha Nair
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