By Will Falk
driven north across
the Canadian border
Viet Nam is long lost
I make war on myself
and I’m getting beat
late July and I’ve
been running so long
my clothes are soaked with summer
I am sick of my own smell
I sit in a ditch
outside Houston, BC
trading histories with the wind
jungles for clear-cuts
and I wonder what napalm’d trees
smell like
then I weep
giving my water to fireweed
in the hopes it grows
—-
Fireweed is a beautiful purple-flowering plant that grows on traumatized lands. It’s the first plant to take root on clear-cuts and its role is to hold the soil and gather nutrients while stouter plants like alders and cottonwoods take root before making way for douglas fir, spruce, and pine.
Will Falk
Will Falk moved to the West Coast from Milwaukee, WI where he was a public defender. His first passion is poetry and his work is an effort to record the way the land is speaking. He feels the largest and most pressing issue confronting us today is the destruction of natural communities. He received a Society of Professional Journalists, San Diego Chapter, 2016 Journalism award. He is currently living in Utah.
Latest posts by Will Falk (see all)
- Time to Escalate? First-Ever Rights of Nature Lawsuit Dismissed - December 7, 2017
- The Rights of Nature and the Power of Law - October 18, 2017
- Why Does the Colorado River Need to Sue For Rights? - September 25, 2017
Beautiful photo, Will!