Fires and Home

I'm posting these poems mostly to represent the place I've been in the last couple months.

Fires in Mendencino

There are 134 fires burning in Mendencino County.
People are wearing gas masks in Ukiah,
it's hazy in Santa Rosa.

At camp the smoke settles over the Redwoods
while the sun is dropping in near the western horizon.

I've never seen the world look so red,
the sun looks like it's blushing.
The bay and oak trees are glowing.

I know the fires are still burning
houses are being destroyed
little kids are having asthma attacks
eyes are burning from the poison oak in the air,

but I can't help thanking God for the pretty sunset.

Home

The squirrels are huge down here,
they look like small cats

The rabbits are big too
with gigantic ears

It hasn't rained in two months
I can't seem to find a 711 in all of Sebastopol and Santa Rosa
haven't found a teriaki place either:

for me, home is drinking a coke slurpee
during a slow drizzle filling the air
with the smell of wet sidewalk.