CERRO GRANDE
200 a.m.
I sat
With my daughter
In the car that night.
We had made it to the curb
In front of the church before the
Traffic came to a standstill.
It was a mandatory evacuation.
In the hills around us fire
Turned the trees to charcoal.
The sky, heavy with smoke
Made us feel like we were sitting
In a coal bin.
The church was open for evacuees
who needed to stop for food
or a bathroom.
It was quiet as the Bishop sat in a chair
Comforting the small group around him.
The radio reported that Arizona Ave. was
Totally gone.
Running her fingers through her hair my daughter cried-
“Why Us?
They are just things. We are all OK. We have what was most
Important.
“Yes,“ she said looking down into her lap, smiling,. We have the
cats.
We have my clarinet, and books. If we get back to school, I’ll have my homework done”
Kids are such a comfort.
Happy Mother’s Day
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