Cooperstown, New York

Ferris Wheels and fire works, 

sailing ships upon the lake. 

Horse-drawn wagons and cotton candy, 

and the children run everywhere. 

Lovers stand at the ring toss booth 

while vendors hawk burgers and fries. 

Boys pitch pennies to win a game, 

to give their prize away sweetly. 

A runner is on second base 

in the Fireman's Baseball Game. 

Someone sells homemade pies 

while the high school band plays. 

A barge drifts by the shoreline. 

It proudly flies the American flag. 

The captain wouldn’t fly it just any day, 

but today is the fourth of July. 

© Dennis Wright, 2015

(Based on an oil painting called

 "Cooperstown, New York, July, 1987," 

by Janet Munro) 

A Fourth of July celebration. St. Helena Island, South Carolina, 1939
Photo by Marion Post Walcott
from Wikimedia Commons