Chula Schlesinger-Fleming Poet Rhyme

Notes About The Poem

The wide sweeping fires engulfing Los Angeles, January 2025, and surrounding areas in California are believed to have been preventable.  Many voices point to the lack of leadership by Gov Newsome and apparent indifference by Mayor Karen Bass.  The reservoirs were dry, no water pressure in the hoses because there was no water. Fireman had no tools, nothing to fight the devastating fires with.  While Gov Newsome whines about "not getting straight answers from lower level managers", people in California already know what happened and who is to blame.

Ashes, Ashes

Ashes, Ashes, Flames all around
And remnants of our lives are scattered
Upon the crackling, smoking ground.

Our hopes and dreams buried in the rumble,
Lost are the things that we thought measured our lives.
Nothing left but our memories.  It cuts like a knife.

We trusted our treasure, our futures, our dreams
Into the hands of a criminal who is not what he seems.
What do we do now, where do we turn?
His incompetence destroyed our world. 

               Everything is burned.

Selfish, greedy, indifferent, ruined.
Remove him from power, and all of his kind.
He will no longer control our money, 
Our actions, or our mind.

We see through the smoke now.
His true colors of black and gray.
His lies no longer charm us.
There is nothing left he can say.

A vote of NO CONFIDENCE, 
A movement rising.
Vote him out of power,
Fallen from his ivory tower.

Shock of the raging fires have awakened our rage.
We are no longer sheep. Burned down is our cage.

Free to see the truth at last. Free to choose again.
Now we come together, rising up as one.
Taking back our power and standing our ground,
We choose a new direction. Freedom will be found.

Copyright Chula Schlesinger-Fleming © 12.04.25

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John Read January 13, 2025 at 12:00 PM Hi Chula, I've been watching the mayhem on the news, so sad to see so many people losing everything, I wonder if those fires were started deliberately, also hearing of people looting properties is disgusting. xx Chula Schlesinger-Fleming January 13, 2025 at 12:32 PM Hello, my friend. Yes, it is suspected that some were started intentionally. Suspected arsonist have been arrested who were starting fires after the main ones were ravaging the forests and homes. A more probably explanation is that the hurricane force winds (more than 100 mph) blew down wires and sparked the initial fires. But the main problem is California's policy to NOT do forestry management and to NOT build and fill reservoirs that the citizens voted for 10 years ago. They have no one to blame but their Governor, although they are trying to skirt that responsibility. It is a total disaster that has costs more than 15 lives so far, and billions of dollars in the loss of homes and businesses. Incredible mismangement.