Phoenix Earth

Endurance.

Phoenix Earth

Cracks in reinforced concrete,

marble pillars toppled,

non stick pan with burnt-on,

caramelised residue, fit only

for the recycle bin.          

A burnt out car bomb,

now a dormant relic,

a testament to life

ended in bloody carnage.

A rifle, bump stock driven

pokes from hotel window,

adding its own rhythm

to country music.

Warming days chilled,

enveloped in the steely grip

of dense drift ice,

as the deep freeze

is turned up full.

Full volume propaganda

sent out over the

'Thomson Reuters' Tannoy

to poison the drinking water,

as thirsty pilgrim stoops,

cupped hand,

to drink from the fountain

where youth and hope

once ran free of pollutants.

At sea,

oil slick coated gulls and guillemots,

as black gold sinks to ocean floor

to nourish the sands

of time.

GM crops distort bellies

and minds with their toxins,

but the hungry eat.

Toxic gas rises from the deep,

magma filled, crust

to spill in molten lava

down virgin green cheeks,

burning the forests

and leaving snags,

standing dead trees

for beetles to thrive upon.

But here is joy!

In the furnace,

ecological treasures

not catastrophes,

quite simply,

some of the best wildlife habitat

created to restock the woods

and feed our planet.

 

23/10/17

Author's Note

See: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/no-we-cant--and-shouldnt--stop-forest-fires/2017/09/26/64ff718c-9fbf-11e7-9c8d-cf053ff30921_story.html?utm_term=.f607395c5b99

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

Restock the earth. A powerful poem shared John. A crazy world we live in. Thank you for sharing poetry and your thoughts.
Coyote

[Einstein Noodle]

fires take anything it can touch ...so agree with the attributes of these fires ... one of booting up new growth ... some believe it is the strict fire prevention in CA that is contributing to all of their fire troubles ... if left to nature .. (some say) the fires would be less frequent .. i think there is some sense to that at the least ... i watched a program on Net Geo about a sulfuric volcano: https://youtu.be/DQ-yGJIT-hA
the sulfur content is so extreme it burns flesh and lungs if exposed too long ... and the cloud spewed continually is so toxic nothing survives in it ...i wonder how dramatic man's carbon imprint really is in comparison to sulfur poisoning ;) just a thought ... so related to the caramelized stick free pan ... i inherited a stubborn streak from me Ma that insists on scrubbing them completely free of it ...i do admit i am a failure however ... but me Ma wasn't ...;))
E.

[Tony Jordan]

Some trees can only - that is ONLY - reproduce after such a flaming 'death' and surely that tells us that we are not the first to witness these seemingly cataclysmic events.
Love the burn pan image the most - reminds me of my early attempts at porridge making as a boy.
Like this very much John.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

You should not be allowed in the kitchen, Burnt porridge indeed! Cheers Tony glad you liked it.

[Tony Jordan]

Haha - I know mate...sacrilege !!
xDD