friday fireworks
(a children’s poem)
Each Friday night, fireworks
Light the Falls and the park,
All through the summer months,
After ten, when it’s dark.
As we weave through the crowd
And descend on Clifton Hill,
The traffic is noisy,
Tourists’ voices are shrill.
We stop at the corner
Till the light turns from red;
Hike past the lily pond,
Skirt a long flower bed.
A battery of blasts,
An explosion of stars,
Greet the thrilling throng
Mid massed buses and cars.
There are loud OH!s and AH!s —
Children’s cries of delight;
As huge flaming flowers,
Bloom above in the night.
Gold and silver sparks shoot —
Reds… blues… dart at angles,
Then shower the gorge with
A riot of spangles.
One last bang! The show ends!
There’s applause, a wild cheer,
Then a child’s voice exclaims,
The best fireworks this year!
Source: The author, 2002.