End of Summer Song
Image via: Kaleb Kendall / Unsplash (@kalebkendall)
03.26.25| Vol. 56, No. 6 | Poetry
End of Summer Song
of the wilting flowers, reclusive daddy long-legs,
and how early the sun dips out of view. This could be,
our last weekend camping in the backyard.
We have knees to scrape,
gravel against skin. We long for more—
green stains on our shoes, and find ourselves
dancing under the rainbow of every sprinkler.
But here, tucked between pews,
bibles heavy on our laps,
we mourn the passing summer day.
Congregated in stale air,
families, friends, and first-goers sway,
clap and stomp. Behind us,
an operatic woman mutilates hymn.
My sister casts a glance toward me. I stifle giggles,
slide my tongue along the grooves of my teeth.
Force my trembling lips to a proper
British O, but when my belly clenches
a grin branches out under my nose.
My sister says the woman’s strength lies in silent prayer.
We erupt into laughter like it’s our way of breathing.
about the author
Marina McDonald
Marina McDonald is a fourth-year Creative Writing and Journalism student. Her work is featured in Ha-Shilth-Sa, Lazy Dog, The Navigator, and Portal Magazine. Her journalism has been celebrated with the Barry Broadfoot Award (2025). Her poetry was awarded the Pat Bevan Scholarship (2024). Her poem “Apple of My Eye” was published in Portal 2024. She previously worked as a publishing assistant at Strong Nations Publishing and served as production manager for an online magazine. She was a Non-Fiction editor for the Portal 2025 issue where her book review of The Wind Has Robbed the Legs Off a Madwoman is published. Marina is a Portal 2026 Gustafson Feature Writer, Portfolio Series Coordinator, and Poetry Editor. She has carried out her creative endeavours through the support of the Heartstone Foundation Bursary (2021-2025). Marina’s memoir “Vicious Cycle,” interview with Gustafson Distinguished Poet Marilyn Dumont, and review of The Crane by Monica Kidd will be published in Portal 2026.
