corporate new year brought to you by fireworks

the afternoon smoke in a warm double papasan
sheer white curtains protect from prying
even though voices were raised  before she left

it's a hard thing, this idea of choice, to honor
 the wishes of the bearer.the woman who will
or not.  plenty of love, she said. is that what it is?

one can hope. she doesn't know what a curse  that is,
 she wants the sting of the evening. fiddle  full of ants.
.the poem in the promise.magic.

strains of a sweet brazilian song drift from across
the backyard.  couple trailers over a pig's roasting
the smell marches down the street singing mariachis

she left to pick up the new babysitter. her eight year old
daughter is going to surprise someone. perhaps herself
.firecrackers begin , popping penecnes.

 there is a party on the other side of the fence bordering
the concrete slab where you can skate or ride bikes. they  play
salsa and rhumba., tango up to the minute. count down

in espanol .when midnight comes the sky explodes
a war zone, a mass shooting rings in the night, comes
from all directions. over head the spinning lights shower

and fade. in the distance huge algael blooms fire briefly
in oak tree branches, bearing mythical fruits. will ok then
will makes it so. rationality's only a rope to hang yourself with.