4th of July

I

The ship moves

but its smoke

moves with the wind

faster than the ship

-thick coils of it

through leafy trees

pressing

upon the river

u

The heat makes

this place of the woods

a room

in which two robins pain

erying

distractedly

over the plight of

their unhappy young

ur

During the explosions

at dawn, the celebrations

I could hear

a native cuckoo -

in the distance

as at dusk, before

I'd heard

a night hawk calling

Structure

27 lines · 4 stanzas