Sugarplum on the 4th

Sparklers drip and pinwheels spin
mind aboard the carousel again
where choke cherry lips
and cotton candy grins
all yawn until the spinning
top
stops
stalls
and lights go out
mommies hushing
and school girls shout
"I can't see you, but I know you're here."
as borders blur
and smiles smear
like fudgy finger-painting
in electric dyes
or neon ink across the velvet
skies
skewed
the symbolic blots
kaliedoscopic crayons connect the dots
that bend the line
and slow the ride
that raced the heart
and pried the eyes
wide
open
ecstasy.

(re-inspired and re-discovered thanks to "Almost Literary.")