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.