Eventually you learn

by John Walton

Kamiak Butte

that forest fires are not

the end. That grandness

requires sacrifice.

I hate to think about

any animal dying, but

what a blessing

the body is. As good as

sunlight, what a blessing

the body is.

Like you, any forest thrives

on its own recovery.

Like you, any forest has its

beginning, middle, and end. So,

don’t you feel your root in this?

Of the wildlife that’d rise

out of your complexity,

and of the air

that moves through you,

don’t you have a root in this?

Somewhere, a deer—like you—

is raising its head upon a ridge,

while an arrow inches closer. No,

forest fires are not the end.