ODE TO FIREWORKS DURING STAMPEDE
crack of
whip of
sound
summer
nights
we give ourselves
to the dark
the electric air
From our lookout
on Nose Hill
needles
thread black velvet
threads rip open
explosions of silver
red and blue
beads of gold
fire-tipped tail heads
spear dark
spurt speed
detonate, a million spraying fragments
night flowers
blossoming
gone
I imagine the trillions of human beings
that exist, have existed, will exist
marching through pre-history
hstory, post-history
imagine them as spurts of colour
jetting into the sky
flowering, fading
disappearing
as black takes them
absorbs them
but there is always another
another
and another flower opening with such intensity
life and death
a vibration in the heart of eternity
I imagine a speeded up version
a trick of the camera
surrealistic flowers
the human condition as jazz
confronting the dark
intensify the rhythm
let loose the irregular beat
sizzle, man, sizzle
subvert the predictable
certainty as nonentity
aim for the molten white centre
quick now
burst stars
go beyond
approach pure light
~ Cecelia Frey
Cecelia Frey lives and works in Calgary where for many years she has been involved in the literary community. Her latest novel, A Raw Mix of Carelessness and Longing, was shortlisted for the Writers Guild of Alberta Fiction Award and she is a three-time recipient of the WGA Short Fiction Award. Under Nose Hill is her latest book of poetry.
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