Sunday, July 5, 2015

Yellow Sky of Mo(u)rning


photo by Ali Chase


photo by Carrie Jo


The forests are all burning,
ominous yellow sky from the forest graveyard
blanketing the town,
the planet heated beyond endurance,
as if it is self-immolating
like a Buddhist monk, in protest,
in hope of liberation.

The forests are all burning,
The birds are startled silent, 
a few questioning cheeps
under the thick blanket of smoke,
trying to determine
if it is morning.

The forests are all burning.
Deer and cougar and bear flee the fiery slopes.
Focused on escape, they run before the flames,
equally prey and victim
of the consequence of human greed.

The forests are all burning.
The planet is too hot
because of human greed,
human disregard for the interconnection 
of all beings and ecosystems.

The forests are all burning,
as if the planet itself is self-immolating,
like a Buddhist monk,
in protest,
in hope of liberation.

The planet will liberate itself
from the ashes of our existence,
as we burn our own house down.

Yesterday at the lake, we watched the forest fire on Dog Mountain. There is no way to stop it. All these years, we have had the Mars water bombers in the lake for just such events. This year, the government, in its usual lack of wisdom, declined the contract for the bombers. which are now grounded, while the forests burn. 

This morning, I woke to a yellow ominous sky, a valley fallen eerily silent. I am feeling so sad about how corporate greed has devastated this planet, while the governments who are supposed to serve and protect instead served corporate interest, and chose holding onto power over the good of all beings.

Western Canada and the north are burning. My soul is sad this morning. Weary, resigned and sad. 

31 comments:

  1. What an ominous sky indeed and a sadness at the loss of so much life. New life can arise out of the burn if we allow nature to have its way. Hopefully we do not fill it with our greed

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  2. Mother Earth will heal Herself but who will heal the greedy humans...so sad...

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  3. Your poem, and circumstance are beyond sad. I don't even know how to grieve this anymore. My heart feels so heavy. Let us believe in healing.

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  4. Very sad really. We have had a very reddish moon lately; and some people say that it is because of the Canadian wild fires impacting the atmosphere.

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  5. Wow, Sherry, that is heartbreaking....to think that the Mars water bombers were there all those years for a situation just like this one but now when you need them, they are not. What a tragic shame!

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  6. The use of repetition puts an emphasis upon this heartfelt piece..! Beautifully executed :)

    Lots of love,
    Sanaa

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  7. this is so sad Sherry; your poem directs me to the caution of Pope Francis in being thankful and not taking the gift of our earth for granted

    thanks for dropping in at my blog

    much love...

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  8. so much sadness and wrong doing.. it's hard to be cold.

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  9. We had such a forest fire here in Sweden last year.. and though I never saw the yellow in the sky I do remember how the air was thick with smoke.. interestingly enough there is a flipside of the many rare and interesting plants that will finally have a chance to bloom.. regular fires are good actually but modern mono culture forests are very sensitive to fire.

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  10. Oh, so very sad. So sorry, Sherry. k.

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  11. this poem was sad and it just tugs at my heart as i think of the ongoing battle between man and nature. hope you are okay Sherry. have a great week!!!

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  12. that's a sad thing to witness. perhaps it is mother's nature way reminding the abuses we humans do to the environment.

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  13. Oh, how very sad! You say it so well as always, and I wish you did not have occasion to.

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  14. Oh Sherry, my heart grieves to hear a forest is burning and I wonder what happens to the creatures who dwell inside. You write with a powerful pen my friend you make the reader take notice to the reality of the words.

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  15. The Pacific Northwest is too hot...and now it burns...the beauty gone and these corporations and greedy politicians do not care...will they get their burning hell in the end? I hope so!

    I am so sorry for your loss Sherry.

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  16. This season-of-forest-fires is becoming an annual heartache. Cracky, it is HOT in Vancouver today. In desperation, I did pick my pen and pleaded with it to "take me away".

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  17. "As we burn our own house down"... sad but true. You make an important point.

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  18. The burning is out of control...threatening the spirit...and yet...we hope the wind may turn...and the burning becomes a cleansing...A sad and powerful piece of writing...

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  19. Curiously the eucalypt forests in Australia can regenerate after fire. A few weeks after the blackened trees have been burnt they start sprouting and live on. But that doesn't stop us planting exotic trees that grow quickly for profit but burn well here too. We don't deserve planet Earth.

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  20. I sorrow with you, my friend,

    Elizabeth

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  21. This is so sad and disheartening. It makes me wonder what authorities are waiting for to act.

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  22. Sherry,

    A very sad and upsetting reality. This poor earth is truly suffering and reacting to the maltreatment humans have recklessly foisted upon the environment and the lands. Disrespect is the only given, without a second thought. I hope some natural healing can pass in time...a long time.
    Eileen

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  23. You have selected the perfect words.

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  24. I am no expert but in aboriginal thinking the burning of land is necessary for re-growth..it is however shameful that self immolation and the quest for freedom is taken for granted by the majority whilst others need fight and die

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  25. Its much the same here south of the boarder. We have to keep the politicians from selling off and not protecting the national parks and forests. Sad that cutting services is more important than maintaining what we already have.

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  26. Last night I watched the news as California hills burned and considered how Earth/Mother Nature work toward balance in all ways, large and small. Parts of the cycles are sorrowful... and then their is growth/regrowth. Sounds like human development, too, doesn't it?

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  27. That touched a nerve, Sherry. Poignant, and I can't quite put my thoughts to words after that.

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  28. Well put... please do not become silent as we watch and feel completely incapable of slaying "Goliath". But, the day will come :-)
    ZQ

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  29. governments will have to realize that this is the only Earth we had. this is such a powerful poem. the Buddhist monk image reminds me of the vietnam war. :(

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  30. my tin-foil hat says that the contract was not renewed because the Harper-ites want denuded, barren hills, the better to justify the subterranean degradation of 'waste land'. sigh. ~

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