Falcon on Fire

Out of the desecrated rubble,

through the impenetrable smoke,

emerges a figure.

A fiery trail of ash and ember cascade in its wake,

and a perfect sun burns at its core.

A flaming light, a brilliant beacon.

The Phoenix.

A raptor with unmistakable talons,

grabbing its prey with deliberacy and precision.

Don’t be so quick to set aside the feat,

because it wasn’t always this way.

It had to die to get here.

An entire forest burnt to the ground to nourish it.

A path of bodies lay crumbled in its aftermath.

And it wears their shoes to commemorate their suffering,

never to forget how it was created,

never to forget the agony it sustained,

and never to forget what it felt like to burn alive.

© 2023 Chris Sadhill