To Find the Open Skies

Forest fires in Canada
leave a haze in Iowa
and I can’t help but think
of how they have consumed
the land.

As I go for a Sunday drive
a wall cloud of smoke
in the sky before me
hides the sun

but the river
is at my side
rippling reflections
of sky.

A voice inside says
we must embrace
before it's lost
as I count the miles.

I round a curve
and for a moment I see
the face of someone
I loved as she smiled,
a memory unveiled. 

Yet I know 
fires are burning
out west
a story played out
every year.

I look into my self
and feel assured
as the sun emerges
and opens the skies.

    for every charred trunk
    that falls  a seed
    left in its wake
Copyright © | Year Posted 2026

Poem

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Dietrich Avatar
August 10, 2026 at 4:05 PM
Wow. Beautiful and profound. A fave 👏
Wolf Avatar
July 19, 2026 at 7:55 PM
The air is so toxic these days... Fires burning. We should be yearning to forge solutions. But we just pick fights. Depressing.
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