[ASIDE: This is an oldie of mine from 2001, but,
in view of today's headlines with the gigantic wildfire
raging across Arizona, I thought it might be worth
reformatting and an updated posting.]
Wildfire!
Like a giant amoeba
sending fiery pseudopodia
into the brown, dry forest,
engulfing submissive vegetation,
painting it red, now glowing white,
cooling to coal black,
in my wake I leave only
charred, complete desolation.
Animals fleeing before my hot breath,
I grow ever larger uncontrollably,
as firefighters with ant-like persistence
marshal themselves at my periphery,
then steadily retreat before my fury.
Water-laden helicopters buzz me,
annoying me like gnats in summer
around a picnicker's eyes.
Heat beyond belief I exhale.
The wind does not cool me
but fans me to new heights of fever.
As I swallow, then consume them,
timbers crackle and explode in protest,
hurling glowing rockets screaming
through the dark thunderheads
of smoke billowing above me.
Inexorably I travel onward.
Nothing can impede my appetite.
I am relentless, unmerciful.
Fear the living beast
that I have become!
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