Bush Fires

Bush Fires

The air tastes sharp with heat

wind drives sparks like angry bees

grass curls and blackens

trees groan as if their hearts are breaking

Birds rise in frantic clouds

their cries lost in the roar

ash falls like dirty snow

coating skin, stinging eyes

The fire moves with a mind of its own

hungry, sure of its path

it does not pause for pleading voices

or the shapes of homes in its way

Branches snap, falling like kindling

heat shimmers off the scorched ground

the smell of burnt life hangs thick

and the wind laughs through empty hollows

In the distance, a wall of flame climbs

chasing shadows, devouring all it touches

we watch, powerless, hearts clenched

while the land we knew disappears in smoke

When it passes

the silence feels heavier than the flames

earth is stripped bare

and the sky holds the smoke for hours