Tag: forest fires

Another Sun

There is another sun embodied in this smoke,
an ancient sun, prehistoric, primeval,
locked away for eons by a kindly force
now set loose by a heedless hand.

Fire liberates the exhalations and ash
of dinosaurs, saber tooth tigers,
Jeanne d’Arc.
We choke on the past.

Image by Marcus Rahm via Unsplash.com

The River

In the West flows a mighty river.  Down mountains, over rocks and boulders, through trees it runs.  Strong and unabated it slides toward civilization.  No dam or levee can hold back the fierce flood.  But it neither splashes nor sparkles in the sun.  It’s pools and eddies are dark.  It reflects nothing and chokes all beings it overtakes.  Dry and noisome, it is a river of smoke.

The West is on fire.

Image by Jeremy Thomas via Unsplash.com