When Fire Swept West - David Beckman

[Larry Robinson]

When Fire Swept West

When fire swept west in Annadel Park
there appeared no stopping it
from descending to devour our street and house 
and when it halted, we wept
with gratitude then went silent
in the knowledge of what others were loosing.

Then came a long-planned
trip to the land of my wife's ancestors.
One evening in Kyoto in an 
elegant old hilltop home 

our hostess presented us 
with poems hand-written 
on rice paper. Mine, by an
anonymous 9th century poet, read 

How clear and bright the moon this autumn night!
White clouds float in the crystal firmament.
I see clearly even the shadows of a flight of geese.

But I couldn't take it in, and rewrote it in my mind:

How red and scorched the moon this autumn night.
Black smoke floats in the inky sky
blotting everything out -- even lost geese 
and their invisible shadows.

In Shinto there are a thousand deities;
Here are two we must speak to now:


First, Rai-den, God of Destruction. He stands fiercely,
fire in his right hand, a sword in his left.
Enough. You ravage the world and now you've ravaged us. 
Leave us. We don't want you her again, ever.

Then there is Kan-non, Goddess of Mercy and Compassion.
She stands serene and focused, in her left hand a lotus blossom.
Welcome. We need you now. Show us that while pain's roots go deep, those of healing go deeper. That loss can choke us but cannot inhibit hope -- we won't let it, now or ever.

And finally, remind us that love is strong as death. It lives in
community, and it's just here that
we will hold it, and each other, tight.

	- David Beckman 

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