I can't see the hills

When you walk outside,

  nothing is clear.

There is a haze.

The air is full of ash.

It has been this way for a few weeks,

 and no end is appearing.

Now,

 I should put this in perspective.

The fires are over a hundred miles away.

Notice the plural.

So much has burned.

Each morning I cough up colored phlegm.

I don't have it bad.

I don't know how many lives have been lost.

I don't know how many have lost their homes.

I can only imagine the despair.

I wish for rain.

I want to see the hills.

Reviews

[magensby]

When you see it on the news sometimes you can get detached since it's not happening to you but 'colored phlegm' gave it color, gave it pulse. You don't have to put your hand to the flame to know the hurt of the burn. Thnx for the read

[Jon Roggie]

This is what happens when you get stuck in the house. Sad thing is unless we have rain, this will carry on for another month or more.

[Lyn Anderson]

I can relate, growing up in northern Ontario, where fire is a part of every summer. Entire towns and indigenous reserves evacuated into our communities. The sky is grey, and the smell is always

[Jon Roggie]

I tried not to place this in a specific spot. California is obviously going through it. I also remember it from Arizona.

[NeonBee33]

I really like this piece, it fills me with a somber sense of empathy, and reminds me of living in Tennessee during mountain fires.

[Jon Roggie]

Thank you. Most people don't realize you can smell the fire from miles away. Last summer it was walnuts. Large grove bulldozed, tossed into the chipper, and piled. The pile caught fire. For the next month it smelled like a grilling competition.