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The following poem, "Fire In the Village," is dedicated to a marvellous family – Damodara, Radha Krishna, and family, and others who lost their homes or suffered damage in the forest fire at Saranagati Village in Venables Valley, British Columbia. Please consider donating to the relief fund via the website for their registered non-profit at https://venablesvalleywildfire.com/ .

FIRE IN THE VILLAGE

What if you lost your house overnight
That fortress totally gone, out of sight?
One minute, you’re good, the next – a void
It is beyond the point of being annoyed

You are stunned, divested of building and barn
And jolted with the biggest shock since born
Serious bolts of lightning had cracked through the sky
And struck the valley of a foliage bone dry

Flames combusted consuming all that stood
Including home and all delectable wood
Now that trees stand like massive incense sticks

You’re grateful to be alive over nature’s tricks

With your flesh intact and clan next to you

And the great asset ­– helpful neighbours so true

Those heroes came through, they fought hard

Against the blazing agni who left the valley marred

Bear, deer, grouse, snake have now all fled
But with the crows’ flight a truth is well said
All will return when the ashes yield life
Surfacing grass will cut through like a knife

They are signs of renewal, a reset confirming a cycle

The Master simply plays the game of His circle

So stay resilient, let friendly Time pass

The subduer of turbulence and all that’s crass

A victim of fire can be stilled in wonder and woe

But breaking the pause is progression’s way to go

 

– By Bhaktimarga Swami

Source: https://www.thewalkingmonk.net/post/fire-in-the-village