Bottle Rockets and Bomb-pops
a quick little thought for the 4th
Bottle Rockets and Bomb-pops burgers and bang-snaps dogs and brats and ballpark mustard bean bag games beaches boats and ballads Jimmy Buffet playing in the background Is it dark enough for fireworks, yet, Dad? Can I have another hot dog? stay away from that fire, Kid I said, get back! take your shoes off before you get into the water Life jacket!!! leave your sister alone, dammit no, you've had enough pop, how about some water? Old Men march to polite clapping quiet appreciations, proud men, patriots the local tow truck throws out cheap candy in the streets an insurance agent- frisbees with his face printed on them the fire trucks, the police cavalry the ambos with lights and sirens banners and bangsnaps and bubble gum and brevity grandpa remembers momma smiles children laugh
on this day, we acknowledge what we take for granted if we look closely at the marching veteran the last man in our town that fought the great war we will see when he was a boy, watching the last civil war veteran and when he was a boy, 1812 and when he was a boy: he saw George Washington march through Virginia An American Lion 364 days we point fingers we're not so great...divided, spoiled we are like the atheist standing upon God's lap smacking him in the face with our theories we've taken the little drummer boy's Drum and retro-fitted it into a charcoal grill for a tik tok reel Bottle Rockets and Bomb-pops burgers and Bang-snaps dogs and brats and Ballpark mustard We are a blessed people. a flag and a dream We stand in the lap of great men like a child in his father's lap touching his beard because he likes how it feels each grasp of the beard tickles the child's hand the tot giggles at his great discovery That the foundation is foundational and still true Here's to every American out there brothers and sisters mustard dripping down our faces suntan lotion on our shoulders cold beer in a Miranda Lambert coozie cold beer in a Slayer cup cold beer from a Wu-tang water bottle cold coca cola in a sippy cup today is the day that ice cream is the coldest and your favorite flavor is whatever is in your hand In the lap of giants we reach out the scruffy beard of truth that we are all created equal that we are created by God that we are blessed by a country that promotes the pursuit of happiness first While we may not see it every day we are free to voice our opinions pursue our aims enjoy our family and friends and communities it is a messy, contentious and diverse experiment, but our passionate country is remains our blessing I think George Washington is smiling a wooden grin at our lives wishing he had some Bang-snaps a Bomb=pop, some fireworks and a Kogel with everything on it
