Prompt:

Sun melts slow on a gravel road, Cicadas singing like they own the show, Screen door slams and the porch light hums, Sweet tea sweating in a mason jar drum. Barefoot kids in a cotton field haze, Fireflies waking in the purple blaze, Old truck radio playing something loud, Hearts beating heavy under thunderclouds. It’s summer in the South, where the days roll long, Where the air feels thick and the nights feel strong, Magnolia breeze and a river mouth, We’re chasing that heat in the summer in the South. Front porch laughing, stars shining out, Living slow, no room for doubt, With a little bit of love and a little bit of drought, That’s how it goes in the summer in the South. Sunburnt shoulders and a creek runs cool, Rusty rope swing by an old farm school, Cornbread baking in a kitchen bright, Crickets keeping time through the humid night. Pickup tailgate under county fair lights, Ferris wheel turning in the velvet sky, Dust on boots and a heart wide open, Promises made with a word unspoken. It’s summer in the South, where the days roll long, Where the air feels thick and the nights feel strong, Magnolia breeze and a river mouth, We’re chasing that heat in the summer in the South. Front porch laughing, stars shining out, Living slow, no room for doubt, With a little bit of love and a little bit of drought, That’s how it goes in the summer in the South. Lightning dancing on the horizon line, Rain tapping out like a backbeat time, Bare skin sticking in the midnight glow, Whispered dreams where the kudzu grows. It’s summer in the South, let the whole world spin, We’ve got red clay roads and a summer wind, From the river bend to the cotton rows, That’s the only kind of heaven we know. Yeah, summer in the South, we sing it proud, Under big sky thunder rolling loud, Hold on tight, don’t let it slip out— One more night in the summer in the South.