incomplete...

The mosquitoes were tearing me up,
So many that there was nothing I could do,
I stopped fighting them, just gave in,
What’s the worse thing that could happen?,
I could end up looking like that crazy girl,
The one from Toronto, disciple of great-grams,
Covered head-to-toe with mosquito bites,
During the music festival back on the island.
Mosquitoes from Lake Huron are no joke,
Hovering over you like massive clouds,
Waiting to suck you dry, or so I’ve heard,
But that crazy girl won a Juno or something,
You know, the Canadian Grammy’s,
Singing with an aboriginal woman’s group,
Great-grams sure could pick ‘em,
She was just one of the many followers.
We had to ride with that same girl once,
From Toronto to Ann Arbor, not much fun,
She apparently liked Mariah Carey,
Which is fine, made us listen, but then--,
Decided to sing along, full volume,
Zed was just a baby, two-and-a-half,
In the back seat trying to sleep,
Thought I was gonna shoot that girl.
Might have shot myself if she had continued,
But anyways I digressed quite a bit,
Was talking about mosquitoes eating me,
Half-dozen or so on my arms and legs,
Just laid back on the blanket quietly,
Waiting for the fireworks display,
My kids jumping around every which way,
E chasing fireflies, the other two playing soccer.
The light was fading from view,
Little by little the darkness grew,
Groups of people wandering over,
From the giant mall parking lot,
Eager for some patriotic display,
On this, the 231st Independence Day,
But we just all needed a break,
Needed to get away for sanity’s sake.
Life is never all one way or the other,
And our outings are not quite complete,
Unless I lose my temper and holler,
At them or some nameless other,
Footballs and soccer balls flying every which way,
Got after the kids, asked them to show some restraint,
In a perfect world/maybe I might take my own advice.
But overall it was alright/can’t complain,
A nice evening spent doing something else,
Instead of the usual/staring at the t.v.,
Or sitting on the phone/or at the hospital,
Waiting on someone who is suddenly distant,
Worlds and decades away from all of us,
Just survived double by-pass, but we’ll see,
If she can overcome this/and regain memory.
Booms and crackles/oohs and aahs,
Diverse faces in the crowd/was good to see,
Groups of friend/couples/and families,
Fireflies flying all around/cheers and claps,
Lying flat on my back/football for a pillow,
Staring up at a cloudless sky/stars twinkling,
Smoke from the fireworks drifting slowly down,
First afire then aflame/then a smoke trail to the ground.
E decided that the explosions were far too loud,
Covered his ears and laid down,
Kept saying he wanted to go home,
But we all came partly because of him,
Earlier on he had been so excited,
Couldn’t wait to see the fireworks,
Sometimes you get what you ask for,
Never realizing what it really entails...