I receive one email during the day,
wishing us a Happy Fourth of July
on this crisp, bitter but bright day
in the middle of Australia's winter.
At dinner, we swap memories
and stories of our annual traditions
of sparklers, fountains, hot dogs,
and overcrowded swimming pools
on a day crisp with sun and UV.
Here, we don't break from routines,
although the moon is a grand spectacle,
because the desert would burn easily
and the fourth is just another day.
Well, happy fourth of July anyway (though it's probably halfway through the fifth there now).
ReplyDeleteI was just remarking that it's weird that we say "happy fourth of july!" so much more often than "happy independence day!" But amusing to me, because most of my friends are either IN or FROM other countries at this point.
I've always found it interesting that we do that with 9/11, which doesn't actually have any other name besides the date.
DeleteMy dad asked if they had the 4th of July in Australia, and I told him 'yes, they don't skip the date out of spite or anything.'