Pops from big kid roman candles cut across the time zones
narratives of personal surface burn and itchy imbedded metal scraps
sparklers tested by tiny fingers consequences of curiosity about what happens
when something gets too close or we…
get too close to something
And moms kissed red marks then and they did fade then
into notions of shirtless battle wounds in humid backyards
hot grills surveyed by curiosity about why…
when pieces of cow parts turn brown and drip through grates they go seemingly nowhere
Today pops from big kid roman candles cut across watermelon drippings
across accidental passages of lines in the sand between iodine and heart monitors
We watched alongside kids we met back then with dusty knees and superman playing cards
while other kids new now kids looked up at things that didn’t go bump but bang
That shattered throughout the sky but also the curiosity and into a sympathetic state
the physiological response to trauma swollen amygdalas and hyper-vigilance
children surveying their perimeter like veterans of war
soon to be shell shocked or electroshocked into understanding
this is now the new fireworks display
And the metal fragments stay imbedded forever
And so do the shirtless battle wounds
Moms kissed red marks today but they won’t fade anymore
The perimeter is beautiful for a moment as the colorful birds fly upwards
And then it isn’t as the pieces fall to the grates and drip
into seemingly nowhere.