Northwest Forest Fires 2022

Beginning as a gale,
the storm drove boats
against the docks and
waves against the break-wall.
Making landfall, it became
a strong frenzy, and for days
the whirling rain darted
from branch to branch
quenching fires.
When the rain stopped,
drops fell, and the fires
smoldered in the mountains.
Dotting the forest,
stump holes housed
hot embers
and the glowing tips
of pine roots.

In the afterlife of burnt leaves,
the forest fills
with infinite rebirth.

Joe Milosch’s new book of poetry is A Walk with Breast Cancer. His book Homeplate Was the Heart & Other Stories was nominated for the American Book Award and the Eric Hoffer, best Small Press Publication. His other books are The Lost Pilgrimage Poems & Landscape of a Woman and a Hummingbird.