Fire (Notevember 2023, #31)

For even when the fire dies
And mountains sleep for countless years
I cannot shed my deepest fears
That, like a phoenix, it will rise

Then cracks shall race across the ground
And chasms gape beneath my feet
And I shall hear the earthen beat
The heart of Gaia, as it pounds

When mighty oak with stubborn root
That delved so deep to stand so tall
Will lose its footing, break and fall
I know that I will follow suit

Come, flood of fire, rain of stone
And all-consuming, darkened cloud
Come, cataclysm, roaring loud
I will bear witness, all alone

To thunder-drowning phreatic blasts
And magma poured from hellish hole
Let quake and fire take their toll
Next hailstone-dwarfing pyroclasts

So urged by forces in the deep
The phoenix once again must rise
And when the fire fades and dies
The mountain feigns once more its sleep

This time you come as no surprise
My instruments can all detect
So I might know when to expect
The feathers burning ‘cross the skies