Fireworks

Fireworks seem to provide delight for all.
Whether a holiday, wedding, special occasion, or a masked ball.
Fabulously frabjous.
There to captivate and thrill all of us.

These explosive pyrotechnic devices disappear in thin air,
Even though we continue to stare.
Replaced by the backdrop of the universe...
Two hundred billion trillion twinkling stars,
Maybe even
    Saturn,
        Jupiter,
            Venus,
                Mercury, and
                     Mars.

The universe,
A never-ending fireworks show.

Remember sparklers as a child?
Standing transfixed, until they go dark.
Beguiled and then riled.

Fortunately, the real show begins.
Now we all win.
Boom as they launch heavenward;
Silence,
     Snap,
           Crackle,
               Pop,
As they display their colorful garments.
Such a beautiful palette of complex hues and tints.

A veritable farrago after the big blow,
Replete with the complexity of a rainbow.

Huge illuminations like a bouquet of diverse and mixed flowers.
     Circular bursts like a dandelion pappus spreading its seeds
      in a sudden gust, or
      Seemingly stationary sunflowers bowing their heads in
      geotropism, or
      Random spirals that mimic twisted tree trunks and their
      plaited limbs, or
      Shooting stars that fight gravity but eventually float
      downward like leaves fluttering to the ground.

Fireworks are like nature.
They come in various shapes and sizes.
In fact, Mother Nature provides a free year-round show.
You must travel to Lake Maracaibo,
To view the “everlasting lightning storm.”
Known as Relampago del Catatumbo
Where ten-hour long lightning storms occur 150 times each year.
Now that is a lot to cheer about.

Like the thunder that follows sheet lightning;
A Big Bang follows each launch and breathtaking flash of light.
Both disappear like scared and perhaps mentally scarred wildlife.

The obstreperous grand finale is a sight to behold.
A seeming festoon of lights strung out across the night sky.
A veritable tohubohu of chaos and confusion
Fitting of a foregone conclusion.
Yelling,
    Cheering,
       Awe,
          Applause,
               Shouts of “encore!”
                   Quietude.