“You’ll find,” he says,
“The rest’s just
pain and promises of pain.
What Hurts / What Will
You know?”

I think –
Long as it’s all the same to you –
I think I’ll be a firework today;
Burn! Fly! Burst! Crackle! Fizzle out!
Then dissipate before–

I land, I guess.
The me that is a firework,
I mean.
Or will have been.

Do fireworks have shells?

Sorry, I know,
I’m all endings today.
Endings and penultimates.

But still,
I have to think –
there’s more than sitting
in the shadow of lilacs
hearing fireworks