The Los Angeles Wildfire

Just months back.

megacity Los Angeles

was seized by inferno.

Th relentless wildfires,

we saw nature’s ire,

furious, blazing fury,

residents fled in hurry,

millions were in worry.

Wild critters afraid —

rabbit, squirrel, deer,

bobcat, puma, bear.

I wonder how many

nests and hives burned?

piles of ashes,

graveyards of memories.

Holly, oak, sycamore —

charred tree snags.

That was the season

for Camellia and Callery pear

to bloom with lovely flowers —

but not that winter!

The city of dreams

was broken and wounded,

like never before.

It will take long to heal.

Now, can we learn?

To not plant,

non-native species?

To not build

with inflammable materials?

Not to provoke,

climate change?

Or must we endure,

catastrophe and terror

again and again?

Note: This poem is slightly edited version of a poem published previously in Medium.

We can take these unprecedented tragedies as an opportunity to mend our reckless actions and learn to live in harmony with nature.