his twelfth Summer

Sam's lanky legs are inches longer than a few months ago. These legs sometimes ache at night with the growing pains but during the day, they are a constant blur of motion.
He stretches out and I gasp at the battleground of his extremities. It's all scratches, connected to a bruise, next to a healing scab, all of it peppered with mosquito bites and dirt.

Evidence of bikes ridden fast,
fences leaped over,
trees climbed.
Evidence of his courage,
and of daily delight in being a boy,
outside basking in the sun.