Evening on the Fourth of July: A Poem

Weariness sits in,
I yawn,
but I am not planning to sleep.

It is the Fourth of July,
Independence Day,
time to celebrate America's birthday.

I listen
as the celebration begins
with booms,
bangs,
cracks,
and pops.

I smile,
I laugh,
remembering my childhood;
the celebration has not changed
in the last 66 years,
we still commemorate
with noise abandon
and sparkling sky rockets.

Happy Birthday U.S.A.