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The Ashen Forest

The ashen forest sits silently waiting –
full of dead, brittle trees
a place that life has abandoned…
A coyote steals across and disappears into its midst –
the urban jungle
The woods littered with dried trees
sit starkly against a grey sky
The ghosts of Indian warriors who once roamed;
now they watch silently and shake their heads…
The brush is thick; inside is a tangle of mangled paths
full of thorns…
Once inside there
no way out
years roll by
The forest stays mute
An image of decay –
parched, cursed, thirsty earth
Worry hangs a heavy curtain to the darkness
Thirst and depravity…
the climate changes,
life goes on
altered states
The earth spinning
into new levels of uncertainty…
This poem was written during a time of extreme drought, luckily now, due to El Nino, the lakes are full again, and the outlook has improved.
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  1. Great imagery! We were hit with El Nino as well and not sure if this has ended our drought. I think that no matter what, So Cal is always in some sort of drought. Also, your scampering coyotes reminded me of the many raccoons who hang around in the evening when I try to take my daughter out to play. We don’t like them!!

    • Usually this area of Texas is in some sort of drought too, but this year, we have received over 46 inches of rain. We went from our lakes almost disappearing to that. We had coyotes doing forays into the city during the drought seeking water and food….raccoons can be vicious, I guess city sprawl has infiltrated their territory:(

  2. Lovely imagery, L.T. Drought hit many places in the U.S. hard and Im glad to know that En Niño eventually brought the ‘parched, cursed, thirsty earth’ relief! 🙂

      • I imagine it’s always touch and go when you live in a sub-tropical climate. But droughts seem to be much more prevalent in so many parts of the world nowadays – whether due to global warming and/or climate change, or just part of a natural cycle. Your descriptions described the parched landscape so well.

        • The drought stayed in this area for over four years, after awhile it really had an emotional affect on people. You are right, I think it’s a combination of climate change and the pollution.

  3. This one really was different and scary. Moving into the future (scape) when water is in high demand and like an atomic bomb went off. The urban jungle was a glimpse into the bare trees. If the photo weren’t there, I also picture cell phone towers and yes, the Indian warriors would weep at such desecration, Lana.

    • Robin, Texas just recently came out of a horrific drought and for the area that I live in, it was the worst on record. Our lakes almost dried up…gets you thinking about the supply and demand for fresh water in our world.

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