T here is great peace
night-wandering
these slumbering mountains
spellbinding
these vast forests
asleep with moon dreams
gently coaxed
by midnight breezes
sterling ripples glint
atop moonlit
crystal clear
glacial cut lakes
their chill
cerulean depths
hold me enchanted
ancient secrets
whispered by these waters
echo hauntingly
in the old growth treetops
stirring to flight
a great white owl
these pristine mountains
take my breath
unspoiled natural beauty
stretching beyond eye’s reach
night zephyrs
wafting high
through conifer boughs
release a heady intoxicant
moonlight drifts down
dreamlike
setting aglow
the forest’s canopy
pierced by silver’d beams
a sky of stars
dance diamond-like
on the mirroring lakes
unleashing the serene
and the sacred
of this place — so unique
but this night
there also stirs the sorrow
of careless human arrogance
these night breezes
are unbreathable
whipped by rolling flames
to blistering winds
choked with soot
the rivers black
strangled with char
as wild fires rage
and wildlife screams
scattering in panic
terrified
as life is consumed
all life
will there ever be
cries enough
to be heard
midst smoldering debris
a horrifying discovery
the burnt head
of a child’s doll
the child lost
in the blackened devastion
like a cruel omen
a tear trickles down
the smoke stained doll’s cheek
my heart breaks
deeply I weep
will there ever
be tears enough
to again cleanse pure
this defiled paradise
*
rob kistner © 2021
Poetry at: The Sunday Muse
Poetry at: Poets & Storytellers