Trees for years and years
dream in the sun
gathering and storing
golden light
Birds nest in their foliage
rodents root around their trunks
their shadow an oasis
for all live things
Sometimes
in the very hot and dry
days of July
a high killing wind
whips flames
inadvertantly lit
into enormous firestorms
Life forms scramble out
as fast as they can,
plants await
their forordained death.
All that light stored
released in crackle
and smoke
as the tree spirits rise
in an untimely sacrifice .
At night
the front
burns on the mountain
like a love letter
thrown in the fireplace,
now and then
enormous fireworks
shoot up
as pine trees die.
Ashes and coal cover everything
until spring,
when seedlings
tentatively thrust green shoots
into the light
renewing the cycle of green life.
(watch out for those goats that
will eat anything)