i'll never forget that first summer.

do you remember your orange corsa

and everything it held?

everything we were when the world was warm

and it was like the days were made just for us.

you drove like you had time to spare

and love to give.

reckless with kindness but careful with me

as i watched you from the passenger seat

like you were the sunrise i got to keep.

the sky, forever on our side,

painted in that peach glow we never had to ask for.

something was built inside that little car -

between cinema tickets and duck pond dates,

late night sugar rush runs,

and kelpies illuminating our evening.

we filled it with music and silence and laughter

that lived on in the glovebox long after we parked.

magic was in the way we moved.

no plan, just the road.

your hand on the gearstick,

mine tracing stories on your knee.

it wasn't just summer,

it was a season named after us.

i think of those nights often -

1 a.m. in an asda carpark sharing cookies and glances.

our feelings too big to fit inside a packet or a sentence.

you looking at me like i was the most familiar stranger you never wanted to stop meeting.

and thank god you did.

we were new, but already timeless.

the kind of love that doesn't rush,

that learns your language slowly

and speaks it like poetry.

the ducks never knew our names

but they knew we were soft on one another.

we sat on that bench like it was a promise,

the water mirroring us back, all smiles and full of potential,

unfolding and unafraid.

you kissed me like you'd meant to

your whole life,

like the world could finally

catch its breath.

and every time i see that colour now -

that flame orange glow -

i think of you.

i think of us and the way we love.

that summer, where we didn't need anything else but a full tank and some time.

so if we ever forget

and if the world gets too fast or loud,

remember this;

we had something golden.

we still do.

and somewhere in a memory with the windows down

and the sky burning soft,

we're still there.

you and me

in the orange corsa.

© anna marie atkinson, 2025

if you liked this poem, check out this xx