Out in the Backyard on Bonfire Night
Out in the backyard
on bonfire night.
A red balloon
traffic-light glowing
on the whitewashed walls
pale as the milk bottle
smoked and smeared
by rockets and candles.
Roman fountains ash and green
as I watched the fireworks
punch holes in the sky
and set the streetlamps on fire.
Wanted to burn and smoke
myself: launch myself
a rocket to the moon.
I let go of my balloon:
the sky held it up
in quiet hands,
closing its fingers
about the dark
until it snapped
a neighbour's rocket in two,
and two warm ashes
fell soft in my hands.
I looked up at the moon,
and wondered if someone
had once let it go.
You’ve lost that, he said.
My first lesson.
How beautiful it is
to lose.
Page(s) 22
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