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| Unsplash photo by Benjamin Lizardo |
WILDFIRE
It's hot.
It's dry.
A spark:
a fire.
A flame
a burn
a blaze:
a pyre.
It threatens,
spreads,
consumes,
gets hotter.
The only thing
it fears
is
water.
©Mary Lee Hahn, 2019
I'm in under the wire for Rebecca Herzog's challenge on Today's Little Ditty to write a poem about what a monster fears.
As the rain pours (and belts and BUCKETS) down here in Ohio, my heart has been heavy watching the news of Southern California going up in flames.
Tabatha has this week's Poetry Friday roundup at The Opposite of Indifference.
It's heartbreaking and you've nailed it. It IS a monster!
ReplyDeleteOh, may Ohio's water come to us soon - we need that thing it fears!
ReplyDeleteThis one packs a punch...to the gut. These wild fires are monsters that need to be doused.
ReplyDeleteTerrifying and you've captured it beautifully. I'm in Australia and fire threatens every summer. I also have a cousin in Windsor California who has just returned home after being evacuated. Very scary stuff. Bring on the rain!
ReplyDeleteSending good thoughts to everyone touched by this.
ReplyDeleteA monster indeed-while I have never experienced wild fires, you captured the magnitude of it. The news shared the enormity of the devastation. My hair stylist's husband is a NYC fire fighter and we often talk about how grueling the job is. Thank God there are those who are fearless enough to fight the fires.
ReplyDeleteMary Lee ~ a gripping poem--well done. My hat's off to the journalists who wade into the thick of a dangerous situation...not to get attention for themselves but to bring attention to the flames, floods etc and the details thereof to the world.
ReplyDeleteThanks for spotlighting this monster, Mary Lee. So frightening.
ReplyDeleteIt's a terrifying and tragic situation. Thanks for your poem -- we're all praying for the people there.
ReplyDeleteI hope and pray water comes soon and the winds die down, too. That fire is monstrous and you poem shows it in just a few lines.
ReplyDeleteMy heart too. :( Thanks again for your poem, Mary Lee.
ReplyDeleteYour image and poem take us right into the heart of this monster. In the last few years there have been fires every summer in my home town. As I read your poem it reminded me of them, and led me to thinking that maybe the biggest monster of all is climate change.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your poem. I like the short lines to keep the reading moving throughout the poem. Short lines, clear visuals, good poem!
ReplyDeleteI see your fire-breathing monster in your image and keenly captured poem–wish I could send the snow we had this week out west. Thanks for this strong poem Mary Lee!
ReplyDeleteWell done, Mary Lee. Those fires terrify me. I have endless admiration for the firefighters trying to tame them!
ReplyDeleteWe have family in California - and while they are safe from the fires, I do recognize that worry and anxiety each time we watch the news. Praying that things will be better soon.
ReplyDeleteWell done, Mary Lee! Great structure and word choice! I've been thinking a lot about the wildfires as well, and those affected. I'm so thankful that this monster isn't one that prowls in my neck of the woods.
ReplyDeleteFabulous! So visceral. I love it even while feeling terrible about everyone affected by the fires out west...
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