A Lone Figure In The Flames
Savage, MN
2023, Junior, Poetry & Spoken Word
Climate Hero: Dr. Andrew Bryant
The fire is loud
It screams as it steals the lives of those who just wanted to live
It burns away what remains of a smile on your face
The silence of those who let the fire burn is loud
It’s louder than any throwaway excuse they use
To brush the ashes of those lost to the fire
Off their fine pressed navy suits
They put on sunglasses as they stare into the waltzing flames
They think the shade protects them from the encroaching heat
They do not notice the embers gathering at their feet
The shouts of those who fight the fire contest the observers’ silence
You wish you can be like them
Someone that can look ahead
Despite the fire scorching their eyes
You wish you too could make a difference
To save the plants, animals, and people
Whose ankles the fire laps at
The words of those who help you breathe in the fire are quiet
They provide you solace in the destruction
They clear the air of smoke
But don’t rid you of its scent
They don’t cover your eyes
But the fire no longer forces them shut
You still see the fire carving its path of destruction
But now you don’t feel scared to face it
The fire has still left its scars on you
But now you lift your head and despite
The heat that dried your eyes
The smoke that destroyed your lungs
The observers that watched you burn
The fire in your heart rages hotter and brighter than the one that surrounds you
Reflection
Climate change fills me with rage and sadness, two feelings that are different, but make me shed the same tears over the destruction of our home. I wanted to incorporate the feeling of hopelessness that climate change gives me and other people in this poem, conveyed through a metaphorical fire. I also wanted to convey the hope that is still here. Despite everything climate change will throw at us, we live. We don’t live by ourselves, though. There are people out there who can help you. Therapists seem to go under the radar whenever people talk about climate heros, but they do so much for us. They help us get by in this ever-changing world. They help us sort through the tangle of feelings climate change gives us. The specific therapist that inspired this poem is Dr. Andrew Bryant.