christina gessler

for the rest of the trees

When the firemen came
and told us to pack what we could 
they offered us a helpful checklist:
passport
keys
important medications
and such
but staring at the list I thought unkind things about whoever wrote it.
Don’t they know? My passport expired three years ago, and all the things that matter
I can’t pack.

When the firemen left 

and the red cross came
they offered us each a small water bottle
that we used to douse a hot spot that suddenly erupted beside the car while I called 911 to ask the firemen to come back
911 asked me to give to the nearest address, so they could
I don’t know the address the mailboxes have all burnt, I said
Fine, she said, how about a landmark
They all burnt too
Ok, she sighed, can you tell me what it looks like there
A moonscape, I said
Then where should I send the rig, she asked
To the fire on Toro Canyon, I said, you’ll see it burning up the only things we have left

It’s when I learned what grief is,
when the fire comes back for the rest of the trees

DR. CHRISTINA GESSLER HOLDS A PHD IN WOMEN'S AND GENDER HISTORY. SHE IS THE HOST OF A POPULAR PODCAST ABOUT HIGHER EDUCATION, CALLED THE ACADEMIC LIFE, ON NEW BOOKS NETWORK.