Fuego Poem by Alex Garr

Sparks burst from the campfire
As another log is thrown into the pit.
The dry log cracks and splits,
Spewing out another cluster of orange sparks.
Flames of red and orange and yellow
Writhe around a cobalt core.
Friends gather around the glowing warmth,
Sharing stories both frightening and amusing.

Lightning plunges itself into the body of a tree.
The trunk splits asunder as fire races towards the
Tips of the branches.
Half of the tree tips over beneath its own weight,
Lighting leaves and branches afire on its way down.
Shrubs combust in a wave of heat
And soon the whole forest is blazing
With power.
Flames stretch their quivering fingers
Towards the distant sky.
Flocks of crows and sparrows burst
From their nests with cries of dismay.
Deer, bears, raccoons,
And every other manner of forest creature
Scamper to nonexistent safety
As their leafy haven becomes
Engulfed in a deadly inferno.

The earth begins to rumble,
A deep, shaking bass that travels for miles.
The force of the sound
Causes rocks to tumble down the side
Of the once-dormant volcano.
In moments, an explosion echoes
Across the water.
Rocks explode from the top of the mountain
Whose belly is filled with fire.
Liquid flames shoot towards the sky.
A heartbeat later,
A conflagration belches forth from
The deep recesses of the volcano.
Flames and fire fly skyward
As magma flows towards the volcano’s base
Like hundreds of deadly rivers.
More fire is vomited from inside the crater
And smoke thick enough to block out the sun
Winds in lazy waves
Like a massive snake who’s anchored
To the erupting gate to Hell.

Helios departs from his Golden Palace
Upon his chariot, pulled by frenzied horses.
With him comes the life of a new day.
The sky goes from black to grey to blue
As the Sun rises in the east.
Warmth spreads its welcoming arms
Across the land.
Wolves open their eyes
With the arrival of light
And blinking step into the sun.
They open their maws in a yawn
Before setting out to find food.
Plants of all kinds silently rejoice
With the appearance of the golden disk.
Hydrogen fuses with hyrdrgen
And the mammoth output of energy
Is sent Earthward.
For millennia this ball of flaming gas
Has illuminated every corner of the globe,
And shall continue to do so for millennia more,
Providing life for countless beings.