Silenced Nature

Sitting on the gum leaves under a blanket of dark
There is never silence here, never stillness in the bark.
And the chatter of the crickets; so loud but never seen
The ever-lasting noise of nature; one great machine.
Now, evidence of life is only a picture in mind
And black as the night is the trail left behind.
I walk through the ocean of ash on the ground
I look amongst the bark, searching for sound.
But not a woke plant is near; for the harm was dire
How cruel was mother earth to invent the fire?