It's different in the high desert,
there's an openness that clears
your cluttered sky and simplifies your life.
At first you worry about clothes and makeup;
then the wind takes over and refuses you a hairdo,
sculpting its own loosely flowing style.
You stop thinking about how you look
and begin talking in grocery lines;
[any line will do, parking lots too]
by the time you checkout,
the clerk thinks you came in together
and wonders who's paying.
You'll probably never see one another again,
so you just smile...and share a look.
Friends become family, lives entwined,
reliable, and children are shared treasures
desert tanned and tough;
growing sturdy roots, catching lizards,
slathered with sunblock playing in the chaparral.
My friend Tina's favorite holiday is the 4th of July.
She has the most fantabulous firework show!
It gets bigger every year longer, more elaborate;
this year they used a ladder and man, was it beautiful.
We sit on lawn chairs in front of her turquoise-blue home,
the air cooled by a velvet evening breeze,
and sparklers are held tight in each grubby young fist.
We remember our own fairy-tale sparklers,
as we help the children fire up their magic, then
dunk charred wands in barreled water.
Anticipating dusk the scarlet sun sinks,
burrowing down beneath a red-hawk horizon.
Fountains of lava stars delight, how divine,
dragon tears cry and universes linger on forever.
My sweetheart whispers, “I want to sing the Star Spangled Banner.”,
grinning and leaning over I joked, “You first.”
Soon after, they light one called “The Patriot” and I can't resist,
I began to sing, “Oh say, can you see, by the dawn's early light...”
Solomon sings with me; one by one everyone sings,
“...O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave”.
We are all Americans in this moment together.
Author notes
Contest: After That I Was Never The Same by Budart
This poem is based on a 4th of July party I attended this year. It was magical, but when we all sang the "Star Spangled Banner" it lifted my heart and solidified us all somehow into a such a strong band of Americans, becoming much more than a party or a fireworks show. It was a moment of Americana I will always carry in my heart.
Photo credit: my own, taken at the 4th of July party this year.
A contest entry
- Inspiration Contest! WIN a GOLD membership for one month! by JustSimplyLissa.
1200 points, ended August 4, 28 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - After That I Was Never The Same by Budart.
1500 points, ended October 14, 37 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
whatever you feel is right
Comments
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A nice clear visual write. The Star Spangled Banner always gets me too. Unfortunately it seems as if we get more and more fractured as a country every year. That people feel it is necessary to bring guns to talk to a congressman about health care seems sad and insane to me. Thanks for your entry.
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Hoodwinked!
"We sit on lawn chairs
in front of her turquoise-blue home,
the air cooled in a soft evening breeze,
and sparklers are held tight
by each grubby little fist."
I feel like I'm there with you. And man, is it beautiful!
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ah you make me homesick
but the lifestyle is simmlar, just replace the sun with for, now damn it I am crying grin through tears
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Sounds like an awesome time to be had.
Truly wish I could have been there instead of waiting to see if the rain would stop.
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I wish you had been there too, it was beautiful.
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What an incredible experience that must have been and I bet it did seal you all together, A very patriotic write. It's an incredile piece you've written here, Filled with a tremendous amount of imagery, A picture wasn't even needed your words stood completely on their own! Beautiful write! Well done! Thank you for this image filled memory that you've shared!
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You are so very kind, I appreciate your comment and your enjoyment of my poem.
Thank you!
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awwww!!! omg!! this is so lovely! tears are gathering in my eyes..
in a good way...I like your approach to this contest theme..so personal! so full of life! I love the indirect reference...I like how you "speak" to the audience.. wonderfully crafted 
it was a joy to read..best wishes to you in the contest
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This contest just fit so well into the wonderful time I had at my friend's place on the 4th. I love your loving it!
Thank you!
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I have had 4th of July parties like this before and how I miss them!! We celebrate differenty now (more spiritually symbolic) but these memories hold dearly in my heart....thank you for the trip down memory lane!! And for a beautiful entry!
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Thank you jcat, it was a trip down memory lane for me too. The nostalgia and fellowship is a treasured moment for me; almost like standing at a crossroads and being able to see both ways, past and future.
Your contest spoke to me, in that I had something simple and true to contribute. Thank you for holding it.
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Very well written. I enjoyed this very much.
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My thanks to you dear poet for reading and leaving a wonderful comment.
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Verses 1 through 4
I so enjoy how you speak of living in the desert, how the heat and dryness seem to redefine priorities. How the experience recreates the sense of the familial, of familiarity. How one just tends to eaaaase into life at its own pace in the desert. Wonderful voice, V. (I hear the poignant conversational tone and it makes me smile)
Verses 5 through 7
Brilliant segue from v4 into v5 introducing Brenda, the tradition of her July 4th get together.. the excitement of the fire works, the enthusiasm of all coming together as a family.... painterly, carefully reigning in the tone just a bit now from the vast space of hot desert and air, whole community to the more intimate sense of
the family of members and selected friends we lean toward and count upon.. wonderful.. Love how you put the fireworks in their careful hands too.
Verses 8 through 10
There is such anticipation as dusk nears. Your pen growing yet more intimate in its observation... the ladder appears, as if nodding toward red hawk horizon to say "I'll take over here..." and everyone settles in to get a taste of wonder. Wonder which is contagious. Smiles.. You further hone in to bring in your love, solomon, with a wonderfully loving tease... just beautiful how this moves, V...
Verses 11 and 12
With the introduction of the "Patriot" display I am now drawn so deeply inside your circle I hear your voice rise up against the thunder of fireworks exploding midair, trembling perhaps with feeling as you consider who we are and where and why we are "free..." and you think of our sons and daughter's scattered throughout the world, lives committed to ensuring this sacred belief, whether we agree or we don't agree with our nation's premise of war, there is a true thing present that brings a knot in the throat.... And all around you, your family and friends hear it and join in.....
and it is true, it is true that
"...We are all Americans
together in this moment, loving
our homeland and our families
with free, triumphant hearts."
you bring the poem all the way inside your heart then release it right back out in this final verse, embracing America, Americans... and further than that... Family, et all. Which in this sense, seems universal in its import.
I feel it, V. I feel it very much. Wonderful pen...
ps and the image is genius! smiles
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Whew, sometimes it takes me forever to get to my replies. Sorry my friend, I am humbled and grateful for this in depth comment on my work. You know me so very well and I love it, love you.
Thank you WB
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What a wonderfully patriotic piece. I loved the earthy prose in this one but do think that it could be tightened up even more and still keep your poetic prose intact.
Loved the images I got with "My Sweetheart whispers, I want to sing ..." Such a good warm feeling that blends and brings the art of being part of something bigger to the forefront.
This is a beauty. Thank you so much for sharing it with The Blue Lamp.
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Very inspirational and a great tribute to our country, its birth and unity in general, as usual superb writing.
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I love it when you comment on my poems, thank you very much my friend.
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What a lovely picture you create with your words. The first half was a good example of poetic prose, very descriptive but lacking true metaphor or device. Then, as the firewords explode, the poetry becomes fuller and more complex...two short stanzas that are filled with imagery. Finally you return to the account of the day and make the reader feel the experience of community and patriotism. Nicely done. Peace, Liz
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Thank you CitrineSunshine, your astute reading and kind words, warm my heart and encourage me in all ways.
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I could relate to this so very well, memories of past 4ths, family, friends, those sparklers in grubby hands... Thank you for that fun naustalgic walk
I love the parts about singing the "Star Spangled Banner" - did my heart good
I loved this
K
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Ah Nickelspring, what a treat to read your lovely comment here, thank you so very much. That is exactly how I felt that night, part child, part adult and all American when we sang the song "Oh say, can you see...". It was beautiful.
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Wish I could have been there. Ours got postponed for a day, due to heavy rains. Sounds like a wonderful time, though.
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Thank you Heatha, I'm sorry your party got postponed, There wasn't a clous in my sky that evening but the ever present wind was streaming the fireworks like flowing hair. Good thing there was a open de-brushed area, right?
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What a wonderful holiday, with friends, family, togetherness and memories. What more could anyone ask for? I loved the opening lines - as I love open spaces and miles of blue sky. Good stuff.
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It was a wonderful day and a magical evening. I am very lucky in my friends and in where I live. I don't think you can do any better than that. Thank you very much for your comment.
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It is these small moments that mold our heart~kept memories...
Your voice imparts awe as you paint glorious colours in wild abandon
strokes. I felt the temperatures shift, sensed smoke and soft breeze.
Real~life writing seldom fails to captivate and this one is a treasure.
Blue
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Thank you Blue, I am humbly grateful for your appreciation of my poem.
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This is wonderful! To take such a lovely story and put it into verse is captivating for me as a reader. How true to life as we worry about how we look then as quickly as it came to mind, we forget it as the more important things in life take over.
Love,
Amera♥
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Thank you Amera, I wish you were there too, you would have loved it.
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terrific storytelling - I cam almost smell the firepowder, hear the excited chatter of the kids and warm feelings as everyone becomes everyone else' mother and child, brother and sister. More than that, it is such genuinely patriotic and familial. you're a master at this Vicky - the realworld illustrated.
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WB, here you are one of my special, favorite, friend/family members. Maybe one day we can write about the day we actually get to meet. That would be wonderful.
Thank you for loving me and my poems, I love you too.
I truly can't read this without a catch in my throat. It was a treasured moment, becoming pure gold as it was unfolding and we all knew it. Funny how something so real and beautiful can always do that to me.
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Wonderful! I loved the freedom with which you wrote this. You threw caution to the winds and painted such wonderful images indeed. I love where you said that the wind refuses you a hairdo That cracked me right up! This also brought back so many wonderful times with those sparklers I used to have. Boy did I love them
Thank you so much for an inspirational piece. Lo ved it!
gaylene
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What a l0ovely thing to say about my poem Gaylene, this work is close to my heart and very, very real to me. I appreciate your wonderful comment very much
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