The dragon morning broke in glow
of tangerine and tongues, in flares
ensnaring trees with scorch and woe.
We barely saw the smoke for air
as clear as lies before the woods
were blazed to ash the dawn was rare
with beauty, then, when all was good
before the flames had raged the streets
and we had done the things we could.
And afterwards we’re cold, when heat
is gone and memories are lost
to bitter taste in life’s defeat.
Mountain Glow by D. Trifiletti ($20)
This glow made me think of the wildfires… for Margaret at toads.
—
December 27, 2018
Björn Rudbergs writings 
Oh, clever write…for a terrible scenario
Holy cats! This is fantastic!!!
I love how this opens with the dragon sky. But it is too close to the wild fires in California to fully like this. I think of all the lives – animal, human, plant life – lost. Hopefully this will be the end of wild fires for awhile.
You had me at the opening line! Powerful write, Bjorn 😊
Fantastic take on the pic.
exceptional. love the rhyming, which is terza rima form i see? i need to try one
Terza rima is an interlaced form of rhyming used for instance by Dante — which I saw fitting as wildfires has to be close to hell.
Wildfires (we call them bushfires in Australia) are really scary, having witnessed them here. How beautifully you constructed this poem Bjorn.
I really like the opening stanza. Great visual images.
The dragon morning broke in glow
of tangerine and tongues, in flares
ensnaring trees with scorch and woe.
I’m a sucker for a dragon morning, Björn, and you’ve captured this one beautifully, but not tamed it! The opening lines are sublime! But oh, the devastation in the woods blazed to ash and the flame-raged streets.
Wildfires are as deadly as the mythical beast of yore. I fear there are very few St. George’s in this world ready to wage a serious battle with the causes behind the increase in those fires.
Really hot fires don’t give off much smoke as smoke is from an inefficient burning.
“We barely saw the smoke for air as clear …”
It does resemble a fire below the exposed stone level. Nice observation that you used as inspiration.
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Cheer up, Pookie!
That opening stanza is a powerhouse!
Anything with a dragon will awaken my soul 😉
It would be sad, indeed, to lose everything in fire. I enjoyed your poem.
We actually had fire here in the Blue Ridge – was it last year (I think) and we could smell it and some had to wear things over their face. Our eyes would even get dry. It wasn’t huge like CA, but it was scary.
Love your poem and internal rhyme.
You have captured woe of a fire so well. Several years a go there were so many fires in Texas. I remember driving with my husband and fires would pop up all around us. It was so scary.
Splendid imagery.