A Collection of Poems

Fires

On the day of moons, many see,

Over the mountain passes, the smoke rises high,

Their cries echoed against the rocks,

Packs upon packs trapped into one tight-knit space,

I rush down to the river to gather all I can,

From behind, I feel myself being pulled back,

It is known as where the blazes breathed life,

I run not knowing where my legs will take me,

It is too much to bear to see my homeland being burned,

All that beauty becoming ash under our feet,

The man with blue eyes comes to my side,

He shakes his head as I know what it was,

We all stand as one to watch in utter shock,

For so much has been taken from us this night,

This shouldn't be happening,

This isn't fair,

Above us, the branches of the trees snap under the pressure,

Falling off to the side we avoid such a tragedy,

I break free once again of his grasp,

Rushing through the prairie grass,

Trying to find any life that still breathes,

My skin burns from the heat of the fires,

My caring ceases for that of my own well-being,

I stop falling over a fallen tree branch,

Flames begin to gather all around me,

All my ears can hear is the cries of my people,

They shed their tears on this day,

For those, we have lost,

For the forest, we once had called home,

Throughout the night the flames keep rising toward heaven,

Within the morn, all that beauty is all gone,

Now only ash caresses the ground we walk on,

I scream at the top of my lungs,

Hoping our Mother Creator can hear me,

I am angry with frustration and pain,

Down my cheeks are the tears covered in burnt ash,

My heart breaks at the sight that is laid out before me,

Many have perished under this weight,

Their hearts break alongside my own,

They want revenge upon the ones, who have done this to us,

Judgment rallies on that of me,

There is no time to think,

Acting is all we can do right now,

Uncertainty clouds my mind,

Yet our lives remain broken, battered, and bruised,

So much has been taken from us,

Destroying all that we have known,

How do we start over?

Embers alongside the river still burn,

As the smoke rises,

Time is all we know we know now,

To stay or to go away to find a new life?