fireworks every night

on any given evening in amman
you’re bound to hear fireworks in your neighborhood
or see some from afar in the city.
i’ve heard that they’ll shoot off fireworks
for various types of celebrations.
these jordanians know how to do it up.

last night i saw no less than 10 different places
out my window alone
shooting off fireworks.
ishaq said he heard it was for a graduation,
and my neighbor confirmed that
the high school students had gotten their test scores back.
apparently these test scores determine life paths.

there was music,
cars going by with young people hanging out the window,
and, of course, fireworks.
ishaq looked out one time
and saw a car doing 360s.

i can oooh and aaah to some fireworks
with the best of them,
but EVERY NIGHT?
literally.

from the looks of it
no one gets married,
graduates,
has children
or has anything to celebrate
until summer time.

if it’s not fireworks,
it’s the car caravans overtaking the roads
beeping a tune
for a wedding or winning a football (soccer) match.

and if it’s not that
it’s the mobile disco tent
that gets set up
in different places throughout the neighborhood
for this or that celebration
after they drive through the streets
and before the fireworks.
usually there are a whole bunch of chairs
and people just sit around in them
while the music blast MY eardrums
from a few blocks away.

but come 10PM
it doesn’t bother me a bit.
i’m gonna get my sleep
and no thumping, booty-shaking baseline
with arabic lyrics is gonna take that away from me.