The Fire People

I can smell the arid air.
I can hear the thundering sky.
The shaman says, todays the day.
The day we all die.

I can’t say that we’re scared.
I take my comfort in the dry grass.
I sit and wait for that last flash.
The one that we can’t wait out,
The one that won’t pass.

The savanna is an array of reds and oranges.
I hear the crackle as the fire starts.
The men begin singing.
They sing the fire to new heights,
With the song of their hearts

Their voices rivet messages to our feet.
We begin our fire dance.
Nothing can be saved, not even us.
The fire sways our way,
Like it’s in a trance

We’ve become one with the flames
I feel the inferno as it licks across my skin;      
I hear the sizzle of bodies and grass
Shaman says “this is what we get,
For living in our sin.”