Black Summer

Oh mighty blaze, how your tongues incinerated a nation,
A kindling that set off a thousand crimson candles.
Your exhale of nauseating, bitter fumes,
The ferrous crackling as blackened trees failed to stand tall.

Freezing flames, shimmering smoke,
Deceased life, extinguished fuel,
Ebony winter, black summer,
The worst our sunburnt country has ever seen.

How could we restore the piece of our planet that was lost?
For we are so blinded by the blazing beauty.
How could we ever feel again, the breath of trees?
Or forget how embers danced like spreading wildfire. 

Oh how I miss my feet pressed deep into the earth’s roots,
The brisk shade your shining emerald leaves bore.
As I mellowed your pungent aroma, my head cleared to wonder,
What blessings could nature leave in its destruction?

At this moment life is adapting, with punches of epicormic growth,
Seedlings are germinating the land of our people.
And despite the extremity of desolation,
For the first time in forever, we see hope as blossoms.