The tight fisted sun
pounds the party
on the beach
this fourth of July.
Teenagers,
brown bodied
and glowing with laughter
throw Frisbees
and bodysurf
along the shore.
Colorful umbrellas
dissolve the heat
with their small round
shadows
while bellies fill
with the offerings
taken from the fire:
roasted corn
hot dogs,
s’mores.
Slowly, the ocean
drinks from the sky its light
and the smaller fire
ignites a fuse
held by careless hands
a little drunk with
independence
and all of a sudden
all the water in the world
is twenty feet
too far away.
DeMaris Gaunt
7-15-12
demarisspeaks 