Watching from the distance
Of the celebration fireworks
Marking the independence
From the mother country
The terrible war's decline
Of our years resistance
A sky of rockets and sparks
All the people in attendance
Except, actually, for me
I preferred the silence
The distant lights
The peaceful presence
Of knowing our happiness
Of an end of war
No more regret or pretense
No more part of an empire
When all we wanted
Was to be on our own
