{Bushfire}

There is a bushfire in my heart

A sudden eruption

Spewing forth heat

It is a force to be reckoned with

A raging, burning inferno

A smoke driven whirlwind on sudden rampage

Billowing pyrocumulus of black, orange, deep crimson

Obscure my vision

Tears will not put the fire out

I am sucked dry of oxygen by the heaviness of grief

I choke, I sob

A groan and crack

Like lightning striking a dried dead gum tree

Confusion

Smokescreens

Pain and mayhem

I must not let it get out of control

Containment is essential

Bring in the reinforcements

The willing volunteers

The brave

Assemblages of well honed resources

Attend to quell the flames

Assuaging the devastation

The tightness, the scorching

Is it the result of natural phenomena?

Or was it deliberately lit?

Am I the arsonist?

Or was it another?

Was it waiting in the shadows?

A spot fire, smouldering

Sneaking down the gully

Nonetheless, it is here

Gutting me

It renders me into another version of myself

I guess that is how it goes

We are all vulnerable to something or other

At any given time

Crumbling

Existence shattered

Amusing, in a strange kind of way

That I would respond like this

After all this gaining of wisdom

Oh, for the greater purpose

And what do I need to learn

A soul sometimes too weary for more lessons

And how the mind runs

Into all the potentialities of the future

What about me?

Where is consideration?

Put your matches away

What is now

Is this

I feel this

This is what I feel right now

Be here now

Be in the centre of the inferno

I can conjure any scenario

Exacerbate the pain

Imagine my future

Pre empt the consequences

Produce more tears

Fan the fire

Maybe not enough precautions were taken

My boundaries not cleared

Too much undergrowth

A plethora of dry rot

Another lesson

In the art of live and let live

Lower the expectations

Guard my perimeter

Clean my gutters on a regular basis

Be less combustible

A cyclic story

The nature of a heartfelt bushfire

A natural law

Better to let it burn sometimes

Better to let it burn than fight it

Let it have its merry way

Until it burns itself out

Like anger

Like grief

Nature’s way

To clear the way for regrowth

For new shoots

New horizons

As per the laws of physics

Conditions will change

The fire will abate of its own accord

Impermanence will reign supreme

And so

Be with, be with, be with

Until it is safe

To return home

To the soul’s healing centre

Where the heart persists regardless

Resilient

Tenacious

Persistent

With nothing to be uttered

But an unspoken acknowledgment

A self soothing

A cooling resonance

A comforting embrace

Oh, to suck in

A deep breath of fresh clean air

The welcome relief

Of restoration

✴︎ Ajanta | Cave Dweller | Torch Bearer | Truth Teller | 2025