As Lightning Strikes the Joshua Tree

When lightning strikes the Joshua tree The air is frightfully clear. The children quiet their Jacks and Jump ropes As the suburbia settles it's ears. An ivy beneath a sycamore tree Watching a fire with envy. It wonders, How on nature's rich, ripe earth Is there a power So quick to devour The beauty and grace of a Joshua tree. Why is it the branches crumble so When Ivy's destruction is subtle and slow. Why do fires spawn sputtered cries When an English Ivy lays easy on the eyes. A Mexican woman pours tears to the land. She cries for the homeless And weeps for the sand. She mutters one word that no one will hear She pleads that you feel it Without dwindling fear. When finally sleep comes The children then stir As they dream of a fire too bold to endure. The woman will weep As the fires grow. She cries for the Joshua trees, It's roots and it's leaves, With a few tears for you, And a couple for me.