I remember the whole town quiet
and then bright and loud
it was not the fireworks alone
nor was it the concept
of the holiday
that made this something
I looked forward to all year
but the fact that
so many people here
took an evening
to pause
our lives
our hurts
our worries
our petty small town rivalries
and instead spent it
on the scratchy grass
of the baseball field
looking up at these flashes
over the water
the neon blooms across the sky
and as the Fourth nears again
years after this ritual has stopped
it is not the grand finale
nor the smoke and noise
that I miss
but the loss of this moment
when the town stood as one
and looked up at the sky in awe
when we were side by side
despite everything else
I miss when we were together
and the night shone above us