Jennifer Lagier

REEK: SOBERANES FIRE, DAY 13, 25% CONTAINMENT

Ashy reek erases hillsides and sun.
Air quality degenerates.
Employees in Big Sur
and Carmel Valley
are warned to leave,
work somewhere else.

In Marina, dogs sniff smoky atmosphere,
refuse to go out.
Clothes, carpets, drapes smell
like the smoldering, illegal campfire
that started this blaze.
Shrubs and outdoor tables disappear
beneath a constant bombardment
of powdery dust.


Jennifer reads "Reek...":



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Jennifer confesses: "This poem is part of a longer, still evolving series about the 2016 Soberanes Fire started by an illegal, unattended campfire. It is still consuming acreage in Big Sur, Carmel Valley, Soberanes Canyon, Garrapata, is projected to destroy almost 200,000 acres before being contained."

JENNIFER LAGIER has published twelve books and in literary magazines, taught with California Poets in the Schools, co-edits the Homestead Review, helps coordinate Monterey Bay Poetry Consortium Second Sunday readings. Newest books: Scene of the Crime (Evening Street Press), Harbingers (Blue Light Press). Forthcoming chapbook: Camille Abroad (FutureCycle). Website: http://jlagier.net