It could’ve been the best summer after the relentless hell 

Yet, no beach waves were seen, and travel plans remained pale

As I look at my hand, holding a receipt telling me the information for another term to take 

Even after the exhausting term, I know the April sun is no longer a source of escape 

The weight of previous sleepless nights still clings to weakened bones

An endless marathon came to an end, yet it left us with no remorse 

That, before the lungs expanded with a sweetness of relief, the arrival of summer peaks already forced its way in 

There is no sanctuary with this transition, only a realization that our rest was stolen by the cruel sun that demands more than we have left to give

Another golden term planned for the Angels to take

Trading blue tides for stashes of cash with eagles not taking a break

With no beach dresses flowing, only paperwork and submissions flying 

Rhythmic pulses of the shore silenced by the drone voices of another lecture sighing

We are caught in a violent transition, a two-week blur where time has slipped its gears and run wild 

I figured: to be an Angelite is to be a creature with scorched feathers 

Sons and daughters of Icarus who wanted to fly out of here

But whose wings were burned by a cruel summer 

In the course of the grace period that was amended, I have one question in mind 

How can an angel flock its wings when the feathers of its sanity are being torched? 

Within the walls of home, the silence is broken by the frantic counting of money coming from parents’ withered hands

A summer that gone by left them with scoured pockets

Hunting for another miracle to come just to satisfy the deadline for the next paycheck

A desperate trade of survival in exchange for inks in our enrollment forms

Staring eye to eye with the stoned Angel here in the boulevard

I met its gaze to show how cruel its memorandum was — charring my wings to feed the greedy souls of its Gods

In this crucible, where the spirit is forged, rather than burned with desperation

Where will April heat stop being a furnace and start being the fuel for mercy?