It's almost the Fourth of July--this might be as flag wavy as I get. But I do intend to watch fireworks and a parade or two.

Andrew sleeps through his first history lesson.

Capital Mall - June 8th


We coalesce,
          arriving from far corners,
                    and light on this great swath of lawn.

We are fresh lovers on a first date.
We are exasperated families in matching t-shirts.
We are creaking veterans
                    running our fingers over lost names.

          And on this clear day after rain--
We are kite flyers.
We are laughing friends playing frisbee football.
We are protestors covering the grass
                    with a million styrofoam bones
                              as a cello plays dirges..
We are eighth grade field trippers
          vigilantly herded by weary chaperones.
We are a hash of exotic colors and dialects
                    swarming the food trucks
                              and dribbling ice cream.

We snap pictures of the great obelisk
          shrouded in scaffolding
                    where faceless someones
                              try to fix the cracks.
We snap pictures of the monolithic buildings
                    ringing the grass--
          buildings stout and stern and sober
                    and looking for all the world
                              like the humorless institutions they house.
We snap pictures of our significant others
          in front of monuments to the significant.

We are a family of foundlings
                    come to play on our front lawn.