Mid-Afternoon - July 4th, July 5, 2024

toasty as the rocket strikes that made

the red glare and barbeque smoke

bursting into the air

today this country’s running quite hot

as I hover near the grill and think

my burger  well done or bloody

and the hotdog  blistered or burned

oops forgot  we’re having fried chicken

so will it be deep biting into a breast

or stripping legs or thin-meated wing?

where have they gone by the way

all the eagles?

is anyone explaining to the children

that bottle rockets were once artillery shells

and firecrackers the bombs that nearly

killed our fight for freedom?

and the enemy is no longer the British

but a fat neighbor smelling the roasting meat

and leaning on the fence with his hordes

and there’s nothing I can do

but watch

                     and wait