More than a hundred miles away

the pine forests are burning —

and here, filling the lungs, stinging the eyes,

hangs the sweet incense from that overwhelming

funeral pyre.

.

In this sheltered canyon

the smoke catches oddly the rays of the morning light,

imbues them with an almost-sacred fear as they touch

the stern-faced verdancy of the living trees

rising from the heights of their birthplace

into a troubled sky.

.

_{Copyright 2020 Cherise Mabb}

_{Photo by Jan Huber on Unsplash}

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