The Smoke in Spokane

I breathe 

the smoke.

I taste

the smoke.

I smell

the smoke.

I see 

the smoke.

***

I’m stuck in this house due to

the smoke.

My son’s asthma flares up due to

the smoke.

I’m tired due to 

the smoke.

***

Why the smoke? 

The fires to the west.

The fires to the east.

The fires to the north.

The fires to the south. 

***

Some fires are near.

Some fires are far.

Some fires in other states.

Some fires in another country.

***

Don’t matter how close

or how far,

the smoke

blankets all

smothers the sunlight,

hides the mountains.

***

Breathing gets hard

Outside the house.

Your head aches

outside the house.

***

And the heat!

Oh the heat!

That dry heat you feel

playing on your skin

weighing on you hard.

***

Stay inside

but you can’t hide.

Try to breathe

but it’s ash and filth. 

***

You get winded

climbing the steps. 

You sneeze.

You cough.

You gag.

***

Your throat burns

Your nose dries

Your eyes sting. 

***

The smoke

gets to you. 

The smoke

tortures you. 

The smoke

erodes you. 

***

We are ruled  by

the smoke.

We are at the whim of

the smoke.

We are sick of 

the smoke. 

***

And through it all, 

we’re forced to

see the smoke,

feel the smoke,

taste the smoke, 

smell the smoke.

***

Until the winds shifts

and blow it all away.

And the fires die

and take it all away. 

***

Then we can breathe,

we can rest,

we can live. 

***

But for now

the smoke

is our jail.

And I’m sick of

the smoke. 

(The fires in Spokane are raging as I write this…)