FIREWORKS AND FINGERS—1955

FIREWORKS AND FINGERS—1955

Curiosity, a game when I was a kid

Danger our leader, things we did

July 4th fantastic firecrackers blown

Day’s warning—fingers not regrown

Images caused a shadow of sighing

Adult words sounded all-knowing

Warnings of short fuses blowing

A friend of a friend lost a finger

4th of July blast memories linger

Picture people regretful—crying

Rode my bike to the fireworks shed

Visions of fingers flashed in my head

Firecrackers and sparklers shine bright

Hot sizzle—metal glitter—day or night

Lawn mowing money saved for buying

Wondering how short is a “short fuse”

My hands didn’t have fingers to lose

Not ready to take chances I found

I could make a hole in the ground

Clever idea—no denying

Put in a firecracker, maybe make it two

Light a fuse—run like the devil wants you

Heart raced with every boom, boom

Blasts shape craters like on the moon

Holes burst clouds triumphing

Touch sparkler metal glow glisten

Ouch, ouch, ouch I didn’t listen

Blistered fingers—lesson gained

Sore, wounded but ten remained

Hot wire—red lure, no touching

Biggest fireworks at the local drive-in

Kaleidoscopic shapes calling heaven

Each canon explosion a noisy blast

More intense and louder than last

Sky filled colorful painting

Signaling—shoot for the stars

Oohs, aahs—dreaming of Mars

Rockets ready for sailing

April Ryan, retired Seattle bus driver, active writer including her variety of seasonal poems that appear in Sharing Stories and Northwest Prime Time’s physical version.

SHARING STORIES is a weekly column for and about the 50 plus crowd living in the Puget Sound region. Send your stories and photos to ariele@comcast.net. Tell local or personal stories; discuss concerns around aging and other issues; share solutions, good luck, and reasons to celebrate; poems are fine too. Pieces may be edited or excerpted. We reserve the right to select among pieces. Photos are always a plus and a one-sentence bio is requested (where you live, maybe age or career, retired status, etc.).

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