Conversation 64
Little Fires
Carly Dow
All the little fires we could not contain
And now the forest crackles and speaks your name
How do we hold on to that for which we yearn
When everything around us is meant to burn
Purples and blues, quiet dark hues
Nighttime against the brightness that consumes
I held you close since you were just small
But how to protect you from the burden of it all
Oh baby blue, if you only knew
What things were done and undone
Oh baby blue, now it’s up to you
To know what to do when the smoke comes
I listen to the birds, I listen to the birds
Up in the pines and the Douglas firs
How can it be, with all that we know
We fear the very thing that is needed to grow
I heard a whisper that it was just the Earth
Scrubbing herself clean from the filth and the dirt
Little fires bloom on the hills above our homes
How every kingdom falls when we claim it as our own
Oh baby blue, if you only knew
What things were done and undone
Oh baby blue, now it’s up to you
To know what to do when the smoke comes
