Will it end in fire or ice? I think I know –
we’ll burn it all, pile it on,
until the smoke rolls thick and dark
from all the mass of tyres and bottles,
coal and living trees, and chicken feathers,
and old furniture, and money money money,
which burns brighter than anything,
flames leaping skywards. We’ll huddle,
backs to the dark, the great infinity
of emptiness, until the last flame flickers,
the last ember fades to ash.
And then we’ll freeze.
My second post for Brendan at Earthweal. We are thinking about fire in the context of the climate crisis.
I lived in East Gippsland for a year, 25 yeras ago. It’s hard to see it burning. Thankfully, all our friends there are safe, but it’s been scary for us – terrifying for them.