Sonnet for Two Army Buddies

By John Grey

Down by the lake, fireworks disturb the night,

The bursts recall the bombs in desert lands;

A flash, a roar, and visions reignite.

We hold the past like matches in our hands.

You visit from a town not far away,

I am your guide for this, my childhood’s end.

With sparks and smoke, we try to find a way

To start again, as though the wounds could mend.

The ducks disperse like crowds beneath a blast,

Yet here, no shrapnel scars the earth or sky.

We muse on lifetimes slipping from us fast:

No jobs, no future, love has passed us by.

Though noise moves on with firework’s brief display,

It leaves old flames to slowly burn away.

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John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident, recently published in New World Writing, River And South and The Alembic. Latest books, “Bittersweet”, “Subject Matters” and “Between Two Fires” are available through Amazon. Work upcoming in Paterson Literary Review, White Wall Review and Flights.