mid-morning was oddly calmserene in the view of everything
all around you had been incinerated
chimneys chimneys chimneys
piles of tile and appliances
some larger trees might come back
over ashes of my grandparent's house
all still in place in some order
despite the firestorm
where the gutters fell and twisted
one barrier you step over
to the main beam facing the front
of the garage that falls mostly intact
but charred all over it is solid piece of wood
you find things where they fell
or where something else covered them
the white ash layer has been rained on
now the consistency of cake frosting
sticks to your boots and hands
won't let go
looks pristine where you didn't touch it
a car with plates from oregon
drives slowly by and they slow down
to take their own pictures
the neighbors house has seven bicycles
all of them burned
lined up as a ghost parade
burned and then all rusted
eventually everything left is rusted
if it can
meanwhile mind goes up to the edge of feeling
then comes back mind goes up to an edge
pulls back and so on like waves
on a shore
but this is your heart and your mind clashing
somehow attempting to come to terms
with something that will not ever
be fully understood
----
Flintwood Drive
Santa Rosa
11.22.17
2 comments:
Bearing witness to a destruction that seems senseless. I cannot imagine but I applaud your images and imagery.
Thank you for your comment. Fire is doing what it does, though I never expected a little slice of suburbia could go up in flames. There were hundreds of expensive homes/ mansions in the hills around there too that were completely burned out. It was like the end of the world and for some it was. I'm grateful I was able to capture the happy feeling of being at my grandparents home by walking on the site, one last time.
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