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Saturday, July 4, 2009

Happy Fourth of July


Last night friends
gathered on the porch
perched on the edge of the bluff
over dark water, waiting.

No breeze blew.
Mosquitos feasted on our flesh
and sweat stuck the shirts
to our backs.

No reprieve.

We smiled. Sipped
cool drinks. Breathed.
Sweated. Remembered

our youth before
our bodies and our lovers
had betrayed us, and
we were beautiful and the
future was a bright,
shining possibility.

"When is dusk?"

Dusk. When it's dark.
Too dark to see what's left
of the sun's dying glow.

We smiled through
our pasts and our presents
and raised our glasses
to resilience.

Permanence.

And then the sky
exploded in a brilliant
ballet, light dancing
across the dark.

A celebration that
reminds us that
life is good, after all,
friends are dear
and we all share
a history

that no one can
take away.

I looked
around me.
All I saw was
light and color and
smiles.



*Thanks to Margaret Perkins and Renee Adams for giving Natchez a beautiful, wonderful fireworks display


2 comments:

  1. Hmm. I can't even imagine the world you live in. So different from mine. Sweet poem. ^__^

    ReplyDelete

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