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What matters now

Charred remains of a vehicle eight months after the devastating Camp Fire

Charred remains of a vehicle eight months after the devastating Camp Fire (Paradise, CA, July 2019). By Salam2009 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link.

A tender rain wanders down
on a day when fires burn
elsewhere, elsewhere—
for now.

Ashes float on smoky wind
over houses that no longer
exist, over crisp bodies
and their pets.

Fires rage, all destroyed
except profits of oil and
gas. Executives, share-
holders smile.

Politicians pocket checks
vote as rich pals desire.
Storms rage, tornadoes churn
Trees turn torches.

Has common sense left
the room? Are kindness,
empathy burned and gone?
No profits there.

Marge Piercy is the author of twenty books of poetry, most recently On the Way Out, Turn Off the Light, plus seventeen novels, a memoir, a short story collection, and five nonfiction books.
2024, Volume 75, Number 09 (February 2024)
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