"Fireworks at Disney"
by Anthony Roberts
Watching the sky light up I recall the incoming rounds the sirens disturbing us sound asleep after days of watching the ANA rehearse for a fight they didn’t show up for anyway I recall the C-RAM sending its own arcing apogee a bright flight that made us smile with glee to bring back to the round sent our own message of hail fellow well met thanks for interrupting our dreams reminding us that safety is not what it seems we hope our message finds you well and should the opportunity arise we’ll see you in hell Now on a warm April night seeing the sky again alight crowds of people surround me the particular aroma of unwashed humanity something else that takes me back to when until my daughters voice reminds me that that was then and now I can see part of for what I fought in the form of mouse ears and bags filled with objects bought a multitude of languages fill my ears englishspanishhindiarabichinesegermankorean it’s all unclear many of the voices slurred by beer all eyes turned upward all hands applaud all throats cheer And it’s ok that what I sought to defend includes this gathering that pretends as it moves between Morocco and Japan or Norway and China or Mexico at the end that I join my kids on a mission to Mars singing Blood Upon the Risers as the pretend rocket sends us into the illusion of stars that I’m just another man jammed into a Monorail car that this America I’ve served in its imperfection is by far preferable to the places I’ve been preferable to the places I’ll go preferable to the things I’ve seen preferable to the things I know and while the masses move by and I see other Vets smiling softly sharing in the knowledge of why they enjoy this night and the magic found here we remain the fighters we are even if we’re wearing mouse ears
Anthony Roberts is a veteran of Baltimore and Afghanistan. He currently lives in New Jersey in a home with beautiful views and interlocking fields of fire.
He is the author of Pigtown and The Clearing Barrel.
You can follow him here.
Sponsored by iHeartRadio, Believe Love Respect and their new BLR Cider, WPDH Vets That Rock, Legoland, Chronogram, Wallkill Savings and Loan, Red Clover Coffee, Havok Journal and so many more - and made possible by a grant from the Orange County Arts Council - the Savage Wonder Festival of veterans in the arts is coming on May 29! Have you gotten your tickets yet?
Want the best date night possible this Saturday night? Drinks, dessert, a hilarious live performance, professional actors, an intimate unforgettable space, pay-what-you-can tickets…it simply does not get better than this. So come on out and join us at our Parlor on Quaker Avenue for our staged reading of Yasmina Reza’s comedy ART.
We have never not been sold out, so you’re welcome to try to show up and hope for a cancellation. But if you really want to see the show, why not book now and save yourself the uncertainty?