I Can See It All

We were standing on the porch when the man walked out,

his arms full of explosives. 

You ready?

We nod, grinning.

You ready?

We all nod. Then he walks past us across the yard

and we follow.

I look up.

Colors and sound fill the night sky. It's a real beautiful thing,

the sky.

There's red and green and blue and white

for miles and miles and the rest of time.

I can see it all. 

I hear the sound of a lighter clicking.

I turn. We all turn.

The man is standing still now.

The man is standing still with a lit firework

in an outstretched hand.

The man smiles a sideways smile. 

Look out below!

And he tosses the thing in the air.

It floats for a second,

like a leaf in the wind.

It just floats there.

But then it starts to drop.

There's a sound.

A tiny, little sound.

And a little flick of light.

Then the thing catches and flies towards my head.

I dodge it just in time as it flies past me.

It explodes in the street behind me into a

million little pieces.

It’s the loudest thing I've ever heard. 

We scream.

We all scream.

And then we jump up and down and dance and kick

and run back and forth across the yard.

My ears ring. We're scared and excited all at the same time.

There’s something so good about being

afraid. 

And ever since then

I've always needed to feel

afraid.