Candy on the Road

Imagine a midnight parade,
Local village holiday style—

The fire trucks, the hot rods, the floats
Representing the local shops,

The royal teens in tiaras
And sashes waving from foil thrones,

Kids on the floats throwing candy
To other kids lining the route—

But in the middle of the night,
In a village with few streetlights,

Deep in second-growth cloaked mountains.
Everyone’s cheering in the dark,

The fire trucks and hot rods hooting,
But no headlights on. Glimmering

For half an hour down the main road,
Then vanishing into the night.