Prelude to Disaster (poem) by Mark M Lichterman on AuthorsDen

Prelude to Disaster
by Mark M Lichterman → (All Poetry by Mark M Lichterman)
Rated "G" by the Author.

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Prelude to Disaster SoCal Beauty: Prelude to Disaster Reservoir water levels down Drought conditions apply Southern California water rationing enforced. October promised a bit of rain But no Not till mid-November Then… Rain! Seven months without Within days of the season’s first rain Brown, burnt-out shrubs and wild grass Magically Once again turn green and the seasonal Process begins anew. Rain… and more rain. The worse the weather The better the weather… To a point. Overflowing water flooding denuded Previous burn areas as rivers of sludge Inundate mountainside and wooded Localities destroying home after home. Walls of mud closing canyon roads, As loosened earth allows bounding Boulders onto Pacific Coast Highway. Verse Two December, January and February Breathtakingly beautiful in their distance: Snowcapped mountains peak into and disappear Within pure white clouds back-dropped by Startling blue skies. California poppies abundant, Hills and prairies dotted with red, pink and blue flowers. Daily sunshine along with intermittent rain resurrecting Dry prairie grass and sun-browned shrubs effectuating Mile upon mile of flower dotted green umbrage. Occasionally seen on the velvety green hillside Herds of grazing cattle, horses or sheep. Lake Tahoe to the north Yosemite Park mid-state Big Bear to the south Whereupon lowering snow lines Opening mountain resorts To a constant stream of vehicles Bearing skies and snowboards. Verse Three March and April From the high Sierras flow fifteen to twenty Feet of melting snow runoff filling reservoirs Allowing sluice gates to open permitting Capricious amounts of water to flow Imperceptibly downhill from north to south Within the hundreds of miles of California’s Snaking, southbound aqueduct system. Wild growth upon mountains, hills and prairies Now distantly showing as mottled green foliage. Verse Four California beauty, Prelude to disaster Last notable rain in early March. Reservoir water levels down, Forthcoming drought conditions apparent Southern California rationing suggested. Moisture now a nonexistent memory as draught stricken Sun-browned scrub grass and dead shrubs cover mountains Hillsides and prairies. May 2, 2013 Ignited by: On this day ignited by a carelessly dropped cigarette In wild abundance Sun-browned scrub grass and dead shrubs Ignite… and quickly, Running with the wind Within seconds: Running with the wind Trees igniting explosively Highly combustible scrub grass and dead shrubs Become a conflagration consuming all within its path Homes evacuated in the hundreds People evacuated in the thousands Firefighters drawing a line in the burning brush Homes, though Homes catching now Homes in smoke as Ten, twenty, thirty miles distant Appearing as a wide red glow on the far distant horizon Day becomes night. As a hurricane of fire… Running with the wind, Out of the hillside Ripping through evacuated residential neighborhoods Tall palm trees igniting as Roman Candles on the Fourth of July Homes burnt to the ground, naught but standing chimneys remain Ten, Twenty, thirty miles distant Night becoming day, Black smoke appears as storm clouds on the far distant horizon as Carried in the air, specks of gray ash fall upon all within the wind’s path. Verse Six December, January and February California poppies abundant Hills and prairies dotted with red, pink and blue flowers Daily sunshine along with intermittent rain resurrecting Dry prairie grass and sun-browned shrubs effectuating Mile upon mile of flower dotted green umbrage. California beauty Prelude to disaster ©May 2, 2013 / Mark M. Lichterman

Reviewed by Ronald Hull

Reviewed on May 3, 2013

I lived in Redwood City for a while with the slogan, �Climate Best by Government Test,� on a sign arching over the portion of El Camino Real that had been bypassed as the entrance to the city. When I was in the apartment in Belmont, we awoke one morning to find the matching apartment in the next building aflame. While two young girls escaped from the front bedroom by ladder and a boy jumped out of the rear bedroom, their father, divorced from their mother, tried to go to the front door and died against it��the first fire fatality in Belmont and twenty-two years.

California has always been arid and on shaky ground. Its climate and laid-back lifestyle has been very attractive. Too many people are drawing deeply on the scarce water resources available from the mountains. It is an scenario set up for disaster just as you have written. I'm worried about the next big earthquake.

Ron

Reviewed by Annabel Sheila

I guess no matter where we live, there's always something! I was in Fairfield, California in 1980 at a family reunion and that was in February when all was green. I've never seen it brown and dry, but my relatives told me about it...

Anna