UP IN SMOKE
Flowers bloom and birdies sing.
Dumb, dumb; see how dumb;
Arsonist flicks his Bic for fun.
Fire, fire, see it glow;
Down the holler, up the slope.
Run, run; critters run;
Smoke too thick to see the sun.
Burn, burn; timber burn;
Mushrooms, moss, and lady fern.
Roar, roar; heat
and light;
Flames a-glowin' 'gainst the night.
Squeal, squeal; forest squeal;
Death comes quickly
on the hill.
Poor, poor, mountain folk;
Children's heritage up in smoke.
Rain, rain; come on down;
Smell wet ashes on the ground.
Flow, flow;
torrents flow;
No leaves left to hold the soil.
Flood, flood; creeks a-flood;
Creeks and highways
filled with mud.
Shame, shame; what a shame;
Bury the arsonist 'neath the jail.
--W. Cary Perkins
April, 1995