The Silver Fire happened in the Gila National Forest in 2013. As of the posting of this poem, it had burned over 125,000 acres…
And I Cry
Had a doctor’s appointment today.
When we left the house in our minivan,
The smoke from the Silver Fire was coming back in.
It was thick and choking out the sun.
Not a pretty sight to behold.
Ninety minutes after the appointment,
We loaded back up for our climb back into the mountains
And home.
The smoke had dropped down from up high.
It was like a puma that had pounced on its prey.
Smoke slithered among the trees.
We stopped at our mailbox on a post,
The smoke was stale on the air that crept in.
I watched bits of ash glide to the ground.
They seemed to make the fire in the distance
More real. More deadly. More final.
This fire should not be happening!
I became sad when we got in the house.
Had to close the windows to shut the smoke out.
I pondered the meaning of all this.
It had been so very dry.
Why does the Forest Service wait so long to act?
Do they not realize the damage that they have caused?
And I cry for the stately trees lost to the flames.
And I cry for the unique habitats destroyed by man’s ineptness.
And I cry for the terrified animals attempting to escape.
And I cry for the evacuated citizens shaken and fearful.
And I cry for the future generations who will never see the beauty that it once was.
And I cry for the hurting planet which works to heal itself no thanks to us.
I believe the Silver Fire was started by lightning. Wildfires have always been. And they probably always will be. We may be wrong to build in their path and not let the natural process remove the undergrowth. But we are but as grains of sand on the beach of the Earth's existence. I felt the same way going to Yellowstone after it was devastated by fire. It will take a hundred years for the forest there to return to its prior glory.
Wow a great poetic account of the destruction caused by fire. I just returned from a trip from Colorado Springs. We got pretty close to the fires there. I got ash in my eye and drove with one eye closed. Not good.
A book of nature inspired poems and essays, written from the heart and soul of a life-long nature, animal, and wilderness lover, and dedicated to today’s children - Earth's only hope for a better tomorrow.
This book won 'The Poetry Category'
Explore the mystery of how nature makes unexpected gifts of creative wonders to an unsuspecting caregiver one late night and early morning in southeastern Georgia, USA.
Share
Print
Save
Follow
budd
I hope you are safe where you are.
Ron
Blessings,
JMD