After The Seventh Night of the Northern California Wildfires - Iris Dunkle

[Larry Robinson]

After the Seventh Night of the Northern California Wildfires


For seven nights there were no stars, only sky 
muted by smoke.  On the first night, the dry bones
of the past rattled the eaves of valley oaks 
on the hillside. Then, raging, hot-throated wind stirred 
and sparked flames. Until the mountain
cracked open: red-lava heart pouring down.
A man or a woman is most alone
when he or she looks at the moon stained red, 
at the hillside glowing hot as a stoked furnace.
Every house feels to be a single cell
of the same beast: fragile and ignitable.
And the days drift on – safety looming off
horizon, a far-off ship. But so long
as we can see far enough we never tire.

- Iris Dunkle




"Be joyful though you have considered all the facts."
    - Wendell Berry