Heat: Fifty Years Later

by Jane Donahue Bridges

At the road’s edge
patches of magenta,

a wildflower called
fireweed, blazing

reminding us
that after

wind-blown odysseys,
silky seeds lingered

beneath the surface
until there was

space
rife with light

where rampant fires
had ravaged

all previous life.
Count

pink petals
on purple spikes

which flare
like flames.

Look
at the veins,

how they
form circles

on long
lean leaves.

Jane Bridges
6/1/13 v14