Rockets Red Glare

Middle Of The Dead End Street
Folding Tables Connect
Brought From Different Homes
PotLuck Dinner At Dusk
On The Family Block
Kids With Sparklers
Running In The Safely Blocked Off
Road Like June Bugs
Sideway Parking Stopping Traffic
Back Then
Dad’s Had Luxury Vans
Mom’s Had Station Wagons
And The Country Had A Gas Crisis
But On This Day
We Were Independent
The Sun Went Down
With Some Drinks
Corks Popping With Fireworks
Hitting The Potholes
As Neighbors Started
Tearing Down Fences
Setting Each Other Off
Before Wine Rot
Took Hold To Far
The Block Captain
Started Shooting Off
His Bottle Rockets
And Under The Scent Of Sulfur
We Enjoyed An Array Of Colors
Fall And Fade Way Past Bedtime
The Next Morning
Blast Pock Marks
And Paper Scraps
As A Grandmother
Newly Arrived
Asian Immigrant Family
Not Invited To The Festivities
Took Her Daily Walk
Early In The Morning
On The Opposite Street Side
From Here Home
As Not To Set Off
Any More Fireworks
By Passing In Front Of
The Wrong House
In The Neighborhood

33

You might also like…

Poetry

The Penny

Lori Khadse

Once upon a time,
in a leather wallet a little torn,
lived a small, small penny,
his spirit just born.

All his life, he watched money come and go,
bills and coins, smooth paper checks ...  [+]

Poetry

Parker's Dam

Sandy Kline

 "For even saintly folk will act like sinners / unless they have their customary dinners."  Bertolt Brecht, The Threepenny Opera   We decide to celebrate the Fourth of July at Parker's Dam. There's ...  [+]

Poetry

Eldest

Purvi Shah

The phone buzzes. Mona sends $101 to her younger brother who needs new glasses. He bought blue frames that sparkled against his brown eyes. The phone rings and Mona turns back from the hallway, racing ...  [+]