September 8, 2020

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 Poets and Storytellers United
Friday Writings #190
 
I went with the way the prompt was worded last Friday. So, it's not quite a summery spooky Summerween (which I have never heard ov) poem.  Just a scary summer thing. 

"...we’ll invite you to write poetry or prose inspired by Summerween (or scary things that happen in the summer)."

Scary things that happen in the summer around here are wildfires.
In recent years too many weeks of the summers have been spent indoors avoiding the smoke that fills the valley (there haven't been any this summer, knock on wood).  In 2020 Portland, OR had the worst air quality in the world due to the wildfires across the Pacific Northwest. The air quality in my city broke records for the worst air quality ever. 

In early September, 2020, an arsonist (still unknown) started a fire that grew to destroy nearly 3,000 structures, leveling entire neighborhoods, while miraculously killing only four people.  The Almeda fire, as it was named, was the most destructive wildfire in Oregon's recorded history, not for acreage burnt, but property loss and displacement.  It seems everyone knows someone who lost everything. 

Phoenix, OR

This leads up to my post today.  I wrote this poem a few years ago for a anthology submission on the theme "Fire."  Publication of the book was cancelled and I never published/posted the poem.  It fit the theme this week of scary things that happen in summer, so with a few words edited, here it is.  Since 2020 the residents of the valley are on edge, afraid of a repeat. We sniff the air and ask each other, "Do you smell smoke?"  Even though I didn't lose my home, I did have to evacuate, and that was terrifying in itself. 

September 8, 2020

The summer Oregon burned
had already been a bad year.
Late summer was sweltering 
and dry.
The brittle fields ready to burn.
 No.  They were eager.
Waiting.  
Waiting for someone to toss the match, to
stand back, watch
the spark reflect in heat-mad eyes,
then run.  
Such a little flame.
Yet on these waiting September fields
the winds took charge.
Fields and homes
fueling not only flames
but conspiracies.
Conspiracies igniting anger
and blame.
Yes, it had already been a bad year
the summer Oregon burned.


©2025 Lisa Smith Nelson. All Rights Reserved

View from my driveway.  This fire started from sparks from the Almeda fire miles away.

The result of the above fire.  Destruction, yet beauty in it. 







Comments

  1. Rosemary Nissen-WadeAugust 15, 2025 at 4:47 PM

    Oh, how sad and awful. In Australia we are no strangers to such fires – though, thankfully, the ones near where I live are usually small and easily contained. But not always, and the danger is real enough that I have an alert on my phone to 'fires near me'. To actually go through it must be devastating indeed.

    ReplyDelete
  2. rallentandaAugust 15, 2025 at 8:40 PM

    Bush fires are on the agenda every summer here in Oz. It's a terrible experience which fortunately I have not experienced. Take care,

    ReplyDelete

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