As Cyclonic Fire (poem) by Mark M Lichterman on AuthorsDen

As Cyclonic Fire
by Mark M Lichterman → (All Poetry by Mark M Lichterman)
Thursday, September 10, 2020 Rated "G" by the Author.

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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.
As Cyclonic Fire by Mark M. Lichterman Verse One September, October and November Reservoir water levels down, drought conditions apply Southern California water rationing enforced. October promising 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 May, June and July *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. Verse Five August, September and October *California beauty,* *prelude to disaster* Ignited by: a cigarette flipped from a speeding car a blowing ember from an illicit campfire a spark from the hoof of a horse a striking bolt of lightning… or purposely set. In wild abundance, sun-browned scrub grass and dead shrubs Ignite… and quickly, running with the wind, within seconds: running with the wind, pine trees igniting explosively highly combustible scrub grass and dead shrubs become a conflagration consuming all within its path. Ten, twenty, thirty miles distant, appearing as a wide red glow on the far distant horizon, day becomes night. As a hurricane of fire… As Cyclonic 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*

Reviewed by Ronald Hull

Reviewed on September 12, 2020

You have outlined the seasonal variations in that wonderful state of California that so many love, including me, having lived there only three years. What I noticed during that time was that so many people were moving in, particularly to dry, parched areas and installing irrigation to grow whatever they wanted to grow on their properties. More and more water needed all the time. Less native plants requiring no irrigation.

As a result, California's water crisis grows more intense every year. The aquifers that provided tremendous amounts of water to supplement what came from the Colorado River and Sierra snow melts are drying up that took thousands of years to fill. Records show an increasing level of wildfires in recent years that can be clearly blamed on a changing weather patterns where it stays drier longer each year, contributing to the increase in fires and their duration.

Stay safe in your home that may or may not be in the line of the growing number of fires caused by the list you have provided us in your poem.

Ron

Reviewed by Budd Nelson

Reviewed on September 10, 2020

these cyclic days were well known to me during the twenty years i lived there