Fireworks
Location
it’s the fourth of july
the day when all of america comes together to celebrate itself
and all of new york city comes together to celebrate bursts of light
and even though i don’t particularly understand the significance of the lights
i follow the crowd down the road
and squeeze myself in between unknown bodies
a man next to me with bright red skin tight jeans and a polka-dotted blue t-shirt
a woman on my left wearing red and blue necklaces
while lighting a cigarette and earning many annoyed glances
children running around through the legs of the crowd causing jumps of shock
we all hush and look up at the sky and marvel at the deafening explosions
we stand in silence
as a few "ooh"s and "ah"s are muttered here and there
and then we clap
and the clapping roars through the whole city
guiding the empty space into the depths of the sound
and enveloping the air with the sweet fragrance of content
and laughter and smiles and lit up eyes emerge
from the darkness that follows the bursts of light
and families nudge each other as they trudge through the crowd
all of new york city becomes one
i suddenly understand that i am part of that one
and i have been allowed to revel with others in that unit of unity
and i can experience the magic within the city that never sleeps
but then i realize that i will be gone in seven months
cut off from the city that blankets me
a city that has shielded my eyes from the unknown for all my life
but my eyes will indeed discover this obscure unknown
as i will be shipped off to an unfamiliar town
cooped up in a remote campus
and taught how to survive
in the wilderness of a world that revolves around money
and i just wish that i could turn back time
to when i was alive in a world that revolved around fun
and i would have loose teeth and playdates
and all i knew of the world was dolls and toy cars
and bubble baths and sleepovers
but i know that i need to take on the world
and i know i’m inevitably alive in a world
that is dominated by green slips of paper
so i must prepare myself for this unpredictable future of mine
by having new experiences
and learning new things
and meeting new people
and traveling to new places
and i just hope it will all turn out fine