Paradise Lost

People driving in melting cars
fleeing to survive
boxed in by solid searing heat
no fight just flight

Wall of flames ten stories high
searing tidal wave of death blankets the skies
suffocates everything in its path
eight hundred yards per minute winds its engine
cremating those unable to flee mostly elderly
their fury companions by their side bones found
their screams fallen only on their ears

Town center cinders hidden memories
Bakery, barber, banks smoldering ashes
family businesses whole town now gone
same zip code but no post office
hundreds missing double digit dead
funerals on hold pain deep in the abyss

families memories images flashing
bring smiles and tears
among blackened embers
pain and despair unmeasured

California just a parched tinderbox
drought seems endless heartless
seven years to incubate
rain like Congress
nowhere to be found

Recovery will be slumbering… sloth like for those who stay…..
a new Paradise will emerge…on a brave new day