Dawn Arrives At Riverside Park

Independence Day has come and gone.... All magic has been trucked away to come again another day Sweltering, yet, in the dewy lawn, is the fragrance of burnt offerings.... hovering low like a old gray ghost, vast over the Riverside Park In the still, early dawn, that now murmurs like a whisper... Where evening throngs and voices of oohs and aahhs were heard just hours before... Where excited eyes glistened and reflected a night's sky alive with fire A solemn morning of chattering squirrels remain the only sign of life as they nibble on pieces of hot dogs, or popcorn hiding in the grass Morning air is cool and damp Park benches, a bandstand, hilly mounds of grass and a playground abandoned, barren and lonely... The day appears to be wearing mourning clothes Of candy wrappers, watermelon rinds, mustard coated paper plates spent sparklers, fire crackers, one lone sneaker.... Where hours ago, radios played, laughter, cheering, hooting, jeering, deafening man-made thunder made babies cry, dogs tremble, children clap their hands over ears Now there sprawls a silent, somber dawn The only music in early morning light... comes from a slight breeze that stirs a tossed Pepsi paper cup as it clatters a pop, pop, popping tune... hopping among the dried, brown leaves down an empty sidewalk....