Ashes
Ashes
In the puddle
Tell a story.
Embers
On the tree-line
Blacken the view.
Once there were trees,
Now blackened silhouettes
Stand on a hill.
Fire
Came right through here.
Stock
Were mustered.
Panic
In the ute
Drove them too.
Storm
Brought some rain,
Slowed the flames.
Ashes
In the puddle
Hold the story
Of that day.
Simon C.J. Falk 6 December 2013
Not far from where I currently live a fire raged during this week. The “Smith’s Lane” fire burnt a swathe of grassland and scrubby hills between Springdale and Stockinbingal. Properties were damaged, with homes and lives at risk. The free-verse above attempts to put us into the story of what happened. Hopefully it aids our understanding of what some families both had to endure and are still to recover from.
Simon's still stanza 