sky finally lightened

air outside cooler, made damp

by gauzy fog and the steady trickle from sodden leaves

here and there purple blooms

evanescent, half-hidden in green variations

too shy to trumpet their colorful mien

in contrast to dirt-gray storm debris

washed from ditches’ overflow

two startling specks of scarlet in the street

a pair of cardinals at morning play

the plaintive calls of turtle doves

soon overridden by the clockwork cries

of Canadian geese on their scheduled flight

all these an answer, a sufficient reply

every moment is enough

smoke and ash haze the sky

their murk a blind concealing the sun

nothing new in this fire

the world has always burned

even in the coldest ice

knowing this

do we see only the flames

or choose to rest and look beyond

to the clear light from the moon and stars

our own awareness as it abides

the house falls around us

walls collapsing one by one

roof-beams so rotted they cannot hold

flooring derelict beyond repair

still we turn our faces away

choosing to ignore each crash

our eyes fixed in rabid gaze

on the dirty mirror where we think we live

and in our disordered ignorance

everything glitters with fake tawdy shine