Smoke From Forest Fires Poem by Deanna Samuels

3rd August 2025
Smoke from forest fires infiltrated the air
warnings in morn for those it may affect.
A pall filled the scene viewed from car
while further arterial roads not clear to see.

The train ride sided along Lake Ontario
a foggy mist overhung its quiet waters,
the division between lake and sky
difficult to differentiate

Forest fires have raged untamed
in North Ontario, and East and West provinces
areas under evacuation orders
and many towns at a moment's notice

Countless houses and property already lost
burnt to the ground, nothing to salvage.
Lives changed forever within a hour
becoming dependent on charitable fare

16th August 2025
Numerous fires, many still uncontrolled,
still rage and burn homes and countryside
and while we breathe occasional smoky air
must think of those who are going through hell!

Written at Courtice, Ontario - 3rd August 2025 and 16th August 2025