Fourth of July
We gave the street a rainbow colored breeze
of smoke to battle smoke from up the hill.
Our parachutes were landing in the trees,
small vict’ries sought by shaking limbs and leaves
or firing up basketballs that failed,
their red-orange flash producing just a breeze
that almost targeted the favorite neice
who screamed and sent it back up to its goal.
The singed and whiplashed soldier in the tree,
with straightened arms and stiffened plastic knees,
clung cheaply to the chute that wouldn’t fall.
The moon was hidden by the smoke-stung breeze,
just visible above the littered eaves,
and hard to see through plants that grew too tall.
The moon was just a whisper in the trees
its crescent filled by popping, flaming streams,
abandoned with the patriotic soul.
We gave our land a fetid smelling breeze
and left our soldiers hanging in the trees.
5 July 2008
July 7th, 2008 at 8:39 am
[...] the Fourth of July celebration at Cody’s, April wrote a villanelle that is simply fantastic. You should check out her blog and leave a [...]