Wild Fire
by Chris Kirkwood
December 7, 2006
I woke up this morning lungs aching eyes burning coughing like a smoker with a three pack a day habit
The stale smoke of unseen fires spills over mountain rim
Pouring into the valley like milk into a giant cereal bowl
Obscuring all but rooftop swamp-coolers and treetops
Gone is the cool peaceful blue-green water divided by the occasional speedboat or jet-ski
Missing is the giant American Flag waving above the community center in the Keys
I called the fire department
They said just let it burn
That forest is full of wild animals
There's a lesson they must learn
Cougars coyote fox and bear
If we don't take the fight to them
we'll have to fight them over here
Do you want a hungry mountain lion chowing down on your son
When you awaken to a bear watching cartoons in your bed with your glasses on his head do you think that you can run
These thoughts had never crossed my mind
I didn't know what to say
These guys are real professionals
I let the experts rule the day
The fire keeps on burning
Thick smoke fills the air
The price of gas goes through the roof and no one seems to care
There was a time when we might have put it out
If we just got off the chair
If we don't take the fight to them
we'll have to fight them over here
About the author:
I am a black man living on Clear Lake in Northern California. It's kind of like Lake Wobegone except the Lutherans are more like speed-freak bikers this casts a whole new light on the white Christmas theme. I write a lot of poetry and I have been featured on a few poetry websites under my pen name B.Nice. If you go to readings in this neck of the woods we have probably crossed paths. I have listened to the show off and on for over 25 years it always makes me laugh and occasionally has brought tears to my eyes. You are one of the only shows left on NPR with intestinal fortitude.
Now Available:
A Christmas Blizzard
GK's New Holiday Story
A comic novella about a Hawaii-bound holiday traveler who ends up stranded in his North Dakota hometown.
Audio edition also available»
The Prairie Home cruise has become legendary on two of the Seven Seas and now is setting sail on a third, a weeklong spring break cruise of the western Caribbean along the Mexican coast, and it leaves March 14 from Tampa.
Stories of a Wobegon romance far from home, all delivered with Garrison Keillor's trademark humor.
Read the first chapter»Signed Copies Available»
The latest collection of Lake Wobegon short stories gathered from live broadcasts include Confirmation Sunday, the church directory photos, Pastor Ingqvist's leather bound sermons along with song lyrics and the "95 Theses," among others. Companion audio also available.
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