On The 4th: A Thin Slice of America
Our hostess serves me up
a thin slice of America—
sugar-spangled platter, blocks
of color: blue, red, and white
approximating our country’s
flag, when you look at it right.
She made it backwards, but
the effect is the same:
colour-coded reassurance—
that our revels make no claim
to personal fame or ill-timed
declarations of independence.