Campfires cling to blackened logs
Their sparks illuminate intimacy otherwise hidden
By encroaching darkness

A circle of implied closeness
Created by the threat of shadow at their backs
And the brilliant flames before them
Shattered by adolescent games for control
And not-so-subtle jockeying for attention
As fleeting as their remaining time together

The beauty of their setting
The peace that surrounds their camp
Could feed their hungry souls
More fully than their desperate greedy glances
At the flesh revealed by the scanty clothing summer requires
Could temper the lust that burns ever brighter
Even as flames fade to coals
But they are preoccupied by coming-of-age uncertainty
Trapped between a primal desire for touch
And the rules that have been drummed into their developing minds
By our underdeveloped overprotective idea of society