Firecrackers
BOOM.
Get down,
Go where it’s safe
There’s nothing to worry about
It’s just a firecracker
The celebratory roar
Of beginning
An end.
The world didn’t stop spinning
When God clapped his hands
Or stop revolving around the Sun
When the small children’s
Pitter patter became heavy with fear.
Christmas is still coming
New Years is still on its way
Ending with a boom
Opening with a whisper
Of the ghosted stories told
Forgotten when we awake in the next year.
Who cares
What you did last night?
Today is our day
Our weekend
Our month
Our year
Because it’s been
105,120 minutes.
Since birth
Since death
Since the first kiss
Since the last breath
That left your hollow body
Leaving souls out on the clothing line.
Don’t keep calm
Panic if you will
For this is not a drill.
Take cover while you can
Do not alert them
Keeping breathing at a minimum
Our schools are now prisons.
The phone lines are letters
Written during the funerals
That begin with a boom
And end with the bang
Of a coffin’s lid shut.