Scorched and Scarred

The scars of the fires that burn and scorch the land do not fade in a lifetime,

                they leave ash to tell their tale.

The scent of the burning flesh of the forest fills the air,

many die by the hand of fire,

 life boiled out by heat.

Soot clouds the sky long after the flames have died.

This is one face of fire,

 the face of its destruction,

the face of the death bringer.

But always after fire the forest is renewed.

Strong, young trees replace the wise but wasted elders.

Brush and debris are swept in smoke from the land,

 bits of ash as skeletons on the ground.

 Amid this new sprouts rise,  

young and strong.

It thus the place of fire,

       the usurper and bringer of death,

 by the hand of nature  to bring new life.