Fizz Out; Not The Fourth Of July Poem by Mary Angela Douglas

[to Ray Bradbury long ago, on a fire balloon night
with his Grandfather...]

fizz out bad firecrackers, in the long grass
you who wanted to see some trouble
come to pass

and brought your own flashlights to the camp.to-do.
children who sense you coming
hide under the underpass of God

and let the trucks roll over.
you think it's all clover now
you've got whole worlds

under your thumb and that
we're on the run as if we
were your shadows, retinue.

chew toys.

but you don't view like the birds do
taking in the whole scene.
there's Someone with a heavier footfall

on the way whose keen
to confliscate your bag of tricks
your snaps and wicks

and oh, by far

He's a bigger candle than you are.

mary angela douglas 27 march 2016