Two Cities Celebrate Independence Day

July 4–7, 201418

 

1

 

midwest weekenders

gather at the lakefront.

blue eyes over navy pier.

 

the breeze has ease,

distant lite jazz. a cacophony

of calm & citronella.

 

the sky on fire above

the mighty Michigan

boasts. penthouses,

 

sailboats stock sun-

burnt faces alight in laughter

& lite beer. a lightness

 

here. a whiteness.

a luxury to hear blasts

& not flinch or think

 

someone you love is not.

here is not a land of blood

or body. all remains, remain

 

well. deposit box inheritance.

the future a right. bright. awash

in light. the holiday is every

 

day

 

 

2

 

neighborhoods will bloom tonight.

 

mini-arsenals stockpiled from Indiana.

smoke & fire in the streets & alleys.

corner boys & working fathers make

the sky burn. the light on the block

warms the faces of little ones, mothers

on stoops finally sitting for a moment

to watch dusk turn the color of candy.

 

bustelo cans are cannons. roman candles

in county men’s hands launch fireballs

into the dark, raging against the stars.

 

downtown the 1812 overture will whisper

gently over the water. but here quarter sticks

of dynamite bass drum a requiem for the fire

crackers take & for those who won’t make it

 

tonight:

 

Warren Robison, 16, will be shot 20

times by police with his hands in the air.

 

tonight

 

Pedro Rios, 14, will run like a boy

until the cops fire two in his back.

 

small armies overrun the streets.

free & aimless, makeshift orchestras

of whistles, bottles, bombs. the war

of each day, reenacted every

 

night.