HERE IN THE WEST
Here in the west, whatever
one’s pain,
one never complains
about the rain.
What’s good for the plains
is bad for harvest.
What freezes in spring
is sugar-beet borrowed.
The river depletes.
The groves expire.
What blooms
in summer is wildfire.
—from Poets Respond
September 22, 2020
__________
Wendy Videlock: “This little poem rose from this article—and from the ashes that fell into our backyard for weeks from the largest fire in Colorado history—which, though violent, erratic and devastating to the air quality, crops and wildlife throughout the southwest, is hardly newsworthy compared to what’s been happening in California. Reports of fires that threaten people or structures are fought vigorously and take precedence over wilderness burning on BLM. But anyone living in the west knows full well it isn’t just California and Oregon on fire—the west as we know it, is on fire.” (web)
