Beautiful, sad poem. Why do beauty and sorrow come together so often?
I did not realize that there were wildfires in France. It seems to be over for now, but we were getting a lot of smoke from Canada's wildfires blowing all the way down here - apparently lightening started a bunch of them. There are frequently fires in the US State Forests, too, mostly in California - a lot are from lightening strikes, but some of them are accidentally (or intentionally) set by humans. I think the stupidest cause is people setting off pyrotechnic devices for "gender reveal parties" - pink smoke to announce girls, blue for boys... and jail sentences or fines for mom & dad. Idiots. We just waited until the baby was born back in the old days.
Of course the forest fires are normal - some types of seeds can't germinate unless they've gone through a fire. I remember reading about how the original Americans would set controlled burns to keep the land healthy, plus it got rid of flammable debris that might feed a wildfire if left. Modern forestry managers are beginning to learn from the old ways.
Yes - 90% of them are caused by stupid people. And the other 10% - I should’ve mentioned - are indeed lightning strikes.
Also yes about forest fires - when caused naturally - are for renewal.
Thankfully, because we are a very forested area here, we have excellent foresters who know which ones to fell and how much and so on. Ironically, we only got through last winter by my going out foraging for dead wood. All that sawing and stuff kept me warm!
Oh, I could feel the sadness, anger and your frustration in this piece, Evelyn. Humans arrogance is indeed destroying the planet!
"We are fossils. Layered and impressed
And only waiting for the exhumation."
What a prediction! And a reminder that Gaia doesn't care about our theories and the stories we tell ourselves to sleep better at night. It makes me sad at the current situation.
Beautiful, sad poem. Why do beauty and sorrow come together so often?
I did not realize that there were wildfires in France. It seems to be over for now, but we were getting a lot of smoke from Canada's wildfires blowing all the way down here - apparently lightening started a bunch of them. There are frequently fires in the US State Forests, too, mostly in California - a lot are from lightening strikes, but some of them are accidentally (or intentionally) set by humans. I think the stupidest cause is people setting off pyrotechnic devices for "gender reveal parties" - pink smoke to announce girls, blue for boys... and jail sentences or fines for mom & dad. Idiots. We just waited until the baby was born back in the old days.
Of course the forest fires are normal - some types of seeds can't germinate unless they've gone through a fire. I remember reading about how the original Americans would set controlled burns to keep the land healthy, plus it got rid of flammable debris that might feed a wildfire if left. Modern forestry managers are beginning to learn from the old ways.
Yes - 90% of them are caused by stupid people. And the other 10% - I should’ve mentioned - are indeed lightning strikes.
Also yes about forest fires - when caused naturally - are for renewal.
Thankfully, because we are a very forested area here, we have excellent foresters who know which ones to fell and how much and so on. Ironically, we only got through last winter by my going out foraging for dead wood. All that sawing and stuff kept me warm!
Oh, I could feel the sadness, anger and your frustration in this piece, Evelyn. Humans arrogance is indeed destroying the planet!
"We are fossils. Layered and impressed
And only waiting for the exhumation."
What a prediction! And a reminder that Gaia doesn't care about our theories and the stories we tell ourselves to sleep better at night. It makes me sad at the current situation.
Thank you Qibra! I’m so happy you liked it!
I loved it. It was a great reminder.
Beautiful. Sad, of course, but your poetry speaks to the heart.
Thank you Hanna. I find it virtually impossible to get away from the ‘beautiful + sad’ thing.