A powerful, horrifying, heartbreaking poem
from our friend Will. Deep bow. 🙏 Molly
What Happened
Here
Today
Three years
After the fire
I walked
Along the river
Through burned
Black spires
Of fir, hemlock
And pine
Once
A palette
Of infinite green
A canopy
Cathedral
Congregation of
Feathered, finned, furred
Horned, hooved
Hooting, howling
Hopping, slithering souls
A choir of
Winds
Through pines
Water
Upon stones
Now
The underbrush
Grows thick
A bandage
Upon seared
Scarred soils
The river
Sings alone
Wondering where
Osprey, eagle
Raven have gone
Why fir bough
And pine branch
Are silent
And
To where
Its friend
Shade
Has retreated
I remember
What happened
Here
Camped on the
Oregon coast
Labor Day 2020
Stargazing
When
An errant
Warm wind
Arrived
From the
East
And the
Temperature
Rose suddenly
Strangely
By 10 degrees
We shifted uneasily
In our
Camp chairs
Wondered
Worried
Smoke arrived
The next morning
Along with
The voice of
Our governor
On the radio
Three iconic
Oregon river valleys
McKenzie, Santiam, Clackamas
Were ablaze
And a
Mobile home community
Of two thousand
Was destroyed
By fire
In southern Oregon
Lives lost
The ride home
Was thick smoke
Bad news
Warm tears
Hard truths
Our forested paradise
Like
The rest
Of the world
Was
Under siege
Will Hornyak October 2023
(PS The Clackamas River flows 83 miles from the Cascade Mountains through forests, farmlands and towns before joining the Willamette (rhymes with dammit!) River near Oregon City. It is among Oregon’s most beloved, scenic and treasured rivers. Its waters, forests and mountains have been my church since I arrived here in 1986. WH )
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